A novel protein, MUDENG, induces cell death in cytotoxic T cells.

A screening system comprised of a randomized hybrid-ribozyme library has previously been used to identify pro-death genes in Fas-mediated apoptosis, and short sequence information of candidate genes from this system was previously reported by Kawasaki and Taira [H. Kawasaki, K. Taira, A functional gene discovery in the Fas-mediated pathway to apoptosis by analysis of transiently expressed randomized hybrid-ribozyme libraries, Nucleic Acids Res. 30 (2002) 3609-3614]. In this study, we have cloned the full-length of the candidate's open reading frames and found that one of the candidates, referred to as MUDENG (Mu-2 related death-inducing gene), which is composed of 490 amino acids that contain the adaptin domain found in the mu2 subunit of APs related to clathrin-mediated endocytosis, is able to induce cell death by itself. Ectopic expression of MUDENG induced cell death in Jurkat T cells and HeLa cells. In addition, when MUDENG expression was evaluated by immnuohistochemical staining, it was found in most tissues, including the intestine and testis. Furthermore, MUDENG appears to be evolutionary conserved from mammals to amphibians, suggesting that it may have a common role in cell death. Taken together, these results suggest that MUDENG is likely to play an important role in cell death in various tissues.