Carboxyl-terminal modulator protein induces apoptosis by regulating mitochondrial function in lung cancer cells.

Serine/threonine protein kinase B (PKB/Akt) is involved in cell survival and growth. Carboxyl-terminal modulator protein (CTMP), a novel Akt binding partner, prevents Akt activation at the plasma membrane in response to various stimuli, and thus possesses a tumor suppressor-like function. In a previous study, we have demonstrated that CTMP inhibits tumor progression by facilitating apoptosis in a mouse lung cancer model. However, the precise mechanism of CTMP-induced apoptosis remains to be elucidated. The present study was performed to examine the role of CTMP in mitochondrial-mediated apoptosis and regulation of mitochondrial function in human lung carcinoma cells. Our results showed that CTMP altered mitochondrial morphology and caused the release of cytochrome c by inhibiting OPA1 expression. Additionally, CTMP facilitated mitochondrial-mediated apoptosis by inhibiting heat-shock protein 27 and preventing cytochrome c interaction with Apaf-1. Our data suggest that CTMP may therefore play a critical role in mitochondrial-mediated apoptosis in lung cancer cells.