Apoptosis is a physiological process of cell death that plays a critical role in normal development, as well as in the pathophysiology of a variety of diseases. The fundamental cellular mechanism behind apoptosis is due to a balance between anti-apoptotic and pro-apoptotic factors, which may be shifted by extracellular signals. 14-3-3 proteins play an important suppressing role in several apoptotic pathways in animals. These are a family of abundant, widely expressed 28-33-kDa acidic polypeptides that spontaneously self-assemble as dimers. The 14-3-3 family of proteins mediates signal transduction by binding to phosphoserine-containing proteins. There are at least seven distinct genes for 14-3-3 in vertebrates, giving rise to nine isotypes (Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, Epsilon, Eta, Sigma, Tau, and Zeta, with Alpha and Delta being phosphorylated forms of Beta and Zeta, respectively) (Ref.1).
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