The Mechanisms Of αB-crystallin Against Apoptosis Induced By Hydrogen Peroxide In C₂C₁₂ Cells

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the first reason for death in our country with the increase of its incidence and mortality. It is revealed by many investigations that apoptosis induced by various stresses is a major underlying mechanism in cardiovascular disease. As a type of terminally differentiated cells, excessive apoptosis of cardiomyocyte will lead to the loss of myocardium and development of cardiac dysfunction. Thus, it becomes a key problem how to interfere with apoptosis in the prevention and treatment of CVD.It is generally accepted that the process of apoptosis involves two pathways: the mitochondrial death pathway and the death receptor pathway. The mitochondrial death pathway involves the changes of the permeability of mitochondrial outer-membrane and the release of pro-apoptotic factors in the inter-membrane space such as cytochrome C, Smac/DIABLO, AIF, Endo G and some caspases, which lead to the fate of cell apoptosis by distinct mechanisms. Also, the mitochondrial death pathway is influenced by some intracellular regulators including pro- and anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 family members, some transcriptional factors( like p53 and NF-κB) and several heat shock proteins.