Nature Communications (Apr 2019)

Ceramides bind VDAC2 to trigger mitochondrial apoptosis

  • Shashank Dadsena,
  • Svenja Bockelmann,
  • John G. M. Mina,
  • Dina G. Hassan,
  • Sergei Korneev,
  • Guilherme Razzera,
  • Helene Jahn,
  • Patrick Niekamp,
  • Dagmar Müller,
  • Markus Schneider,
  • Fikadu G. Tafesse,
  • Siewert J. Marrink,
  • Manuel N. Melo,
  • Joost C. M. Holthuis

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-09654-4
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 10, no. 1
pp. 1 – 12

Abstract

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Ceramides are lipids that act directly on mitochondria to trigger apoptosis, but the underlying mechanism remains largely unclear. Here authors use a photoactivatable ceramide probe combined with a computation approach and functional studies to identify the voltage-dependent anion channel VDAC2 as a direct effector of ceramide-mediated cell death.