In the field of cell biology

Cell biology

Cell biology is a scientific discipline that studies cells – their physiological properties, their structure, the organelles they contain, interactions with their environment, their life cycle, division and death. This is done both on a microscopic and molecular level...

, TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL), is a protein

Protein

Proteins are biochemical compounds consisting of one or more polypeptides typically folded into a globular or fibrous form, facilitating a biological function. A polypeptide is a single linear polymer chain of amino acids bonded together by peptide bonds between the carboxyl and amino groups of...

 functioning as a ligand

Ligand (biochemistry)

In biochemistry and pharmacology, a ligand is a substance that forms a complex with a biomolecule to serve a biological purpose. In a narrower sense, it is a signal triggering molecule, binding to a site on a target protein.The binding occurs by intermolecular forces, such as ionic bonds, hydrogen...

 that induces the process of cell death called apoptosis

Apoptosis

Apoptosis is the process of programmed cell death that may occur in multicellular organisms. Biochemical events lead to characteristic cell changes and death. These changes include blebbing, cell shrinkage, nuclear fragmentation, chromatin condensation, and chromosomal DNA fragmentation...

. TRAIL has also been designated CD253 (cluster of differentiation

Cluster of differentiation

The cluster of differentiation is a protocol used for the identification and investigation of cell surface molecules present on white blood cells, providing targets for immunophenotyping of cells...

 253).

Gene

In humans, the gene that encodes for TRAIL is located at chromosome

Chromosome

A chromosome is an organized structure of DNA and protein found in cells. It is a single piece of coiled DNA containing many genes, regulatory elements and other nucleotide sequences. Chromosomes also contain DNA-bound proteins, which serve to package the DNA and control its functions.Chromosomes...

 3q26, which is not close to other TNF family members. The genomic structure of the TRAIL gene spans approximately 20 kb and is composed of five exonic segments 222, 138, 42, 106, and 1245 nucleotides and four introns of approximately 8.2, 3.2, 2.3 and 2.3 kb. The TRAIL gene lacks TATA and CAAT boxes and the promotor region contains putative response elements for GATA, AP-1, C/EBP, SP-1, OCT-1, AP3, PEA3, CF-1, and ISRE.

Structure

TRAIL shows homology to other members of the tumor necrosis factor

Tumor necrosis factors

Tumor necrosis factors refers to a group of cytokines family that can cause cell death . The first two members of the family to be identified were:...

 superfamily. It is composed of 281 amino acids and has characteristics of a type II transmembrane protein

Transmembrane protein

A transmembrane protein is a protein that goes from one side of a membrane through to the other side of the membrane. Many TPs function as gateways or "loading docks" to deny or permit the transport of specific substances across the biological membrane, to get into the cell, or out of the cell as...

 (i.e. no leader sequence and an internal transmembrane domain). The N-terminal cytoplasmic domain is not conserved across family members, however, the C-terminal extracellular domain is conserved and can be proteolytically cleaved from the cell surface. TRAIL forms a homotrimer that binds three receptor molecules.

Function

TRAIL binds to the death receptors DR4 (TRAIL-RI) and DR5 (TRAIL-RII). The process of apoptosis is caspase-8

Caspase

Caspases, or cysteine-aspartic proteases or cysteine-dependent aspartate-directed proteases are a family of cysteine proteases that play essential roles in apoptosis , necrosis, and inflammation....

-dependent. Caspase-8 activates downstream effector caspases including procaspase-3, -6, and -7, leading to activation of specific kinases. TRAIL also binds the receptors DcR1 and DcR2, which do not contain a cytoplasmic domain (DcR1) or contain a truncated death domain (DcR2). DcR1 functions as a TRAIL-neutralizing decoy-receptor. The cytoplasmic domain of DcR2 is functional and activates NFkappaB.
In cells expressing DcR2, TRAIL binding therefore activates NFkappaB, leading to transcription of genes known to antagonize the death signaling pathway and/or to promote inflammation.

Interactions

TRAIL has been shown to interact

Protein-protein interaction

Protein–protein interactions occur when two or more proteins bind together, often to carry out their biological function. Many of the most important molecular processes in the cell such as DNA replication are carried out by large molecular machines that are built from a large number of protein...

 with TNFRSF10B

TNFRSF10B

Tumor necrosis factor receptor superfamily, member 10b, official symbol TNFRSF10B, is a human gene.As know as; DR5, CD262, KILLER, TRICK2, TRICKB, ZTNFR9, TRAILR2, TRICK2A, TRICK2B, TRAIL-R2, KILLER/DR5-Interactions:...

.

Further reading

External links

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29AMumxsEo0 Apoptosis, Trail & Caspase 8 - The Proteolysis Map
  The Proteolysis Map
  The Proteolysis MAP is an integrated web resource focused on proteases.-Rationale:PMAP is to aid the protease researchers in reasoning about proteolytic networks and metabolic pathways.-History and funding:...
  
  -animation