Daxx is a predominately nuclear protein that does not translocate to the cytoplasm in response to cell stress.

The intracellular translocation of Daxx to the cytoplasm is a phenomenon often attributed to cells undergoing stress, opposite to predominant nuclear localization of this protein under normal homeostatic conditions. Moreover, a number of reports have suggested that export to the cytosol upon several stress conditions, including oxidative stress, glucose deprivation and beta-amyloid peptide treatment, is indispensable for the proper execution of Daxx-induced apoptosis. On the contrary, other studies have described translocation of Daxx from cytoplasm to nucleus upon stress application. Here, we examined cellular distribution of Daxx by sub-cellular fractionation and immunofluorescent localization of endogenous protein, using SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cell line previously reported to exhibit cytoplasmic translocation of Daxx after oxidative stress and beta-amyloid exposure. In control conditions, Daxx is an exclusively nuclear protein in SH-SY5Y cells. Short treatment by either H(2)O(2) or beta-amyloid did not show any significant change in nuclear localization of Daxx. Prolonged exposure of cells to stress compounds did not alter the intracellular deposition of Daxx that remains exclusively in the nucleus. A cohort of other cell lines, including human prostate cancer cell line DU-145, previously reported to exhibit stress-induced cytosol translocation was examined for Daxx distribution and none were confirmed to show re-localization of Daxx to the cytoplasm after either short or long stress. Time-lapse visualization of Daxx-GFP upon H(2)O(2) treatment or glucose deprivation did not show cytoplasmic translocation either. Thus, while several Daxx-dependent apoptotic mechanisms have been described, the cytosolic association and function of this protein is questionable in light of these findings.