Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Research Highlight
  • Published:

Signal transduction

Escape from death

Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology volume 2, page 644 (2001)Cite this article

NF-κB transcription factors are critical regulators of apoptosis, and are themselves controlled by the inhibitor of NF-κB (IκB) proteins. Extracellular signals — including those emanating from cytokines — induce the phosphorylation (and hence degradation) of IκBs, allowing NF-κB dimers to enter the nucleus and activate gene transcription.

Studies have shown that NF-κB promotes cell survival through the transcriptional activation of anti-apoptotic genes. Expression of NF-κB in the brain is strongly induced after stress, leading Digicaylioglu and Lipton to investigate whether the anti-apoptotic function of erythropoietin is mediated through NF-κB. Biochemical assays revealed that treatment of neurons with erythropoietin resulted in sustained activation of NF-κB, leading to its translocation into the nucleus followed by DNA binding. As expected, inhibition of NF-κB inhibited the protection.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on SpringerLink
  • Instant access to the full article PDF.

USD 39.95

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

References

ORIGINAL RESEARCH PAPER

  1. Digicaylioglu, M. & Lipton, S. A. Erythropietin-mediated neuroprotection involves cross-talk between Jak2 and NF-κB signalling cascades. Nature 412, 641–647 (2001)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

FURTHER READING

  1. Siebenlist, U. Barriers come down. Nature 412, 601–602 (2001)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Associate Editor, Nature,

    Deepa Nath

Authors
  1. Deepa Nath
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Nath, D. Escape from death. Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol 2, 644 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1038/35089533

Download citation

  • Issue date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/35089533

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing