E. Oeda et al., INTERACTION OF DROSOPHILA INHIBITORS OF APOPTOSIS WITH THICK VEINS, ATYPE-I SERINE THREONINE KINASE RECEPTOR FOR DECAPENTAPLEGIC/, The Journal of biological chemistry, 273(16), 1998, pp. 9353-9356
Decapentaplegic (Dpp) is a Drosophila member of bone morphogenetic pro
teins, which belong to the transforming growth factor-beta superfamily
. Members of this family regulate a variety of biological processes su
ch as cell proliferation, morphogenesis, immune response, and apoptosi
s. Dpp plays a critical role in many aspects of Drosophila development
. Members of the transforming growth factor-beta superfamily bind to t
wo different types of serine/threonine kinase receptors, termed type I
and type II. Type I receptors act as downstream components of type II
receptors in the receptor complexes. Therefore, intracellular protein
s that interact with the type I receptors are likely to play important
roles in signaling. Several proteins have been identified through pro
tein-protein interaction screenings. We identified Drosophila inhibito
r of apoptosis (DIAP) 1 as an interacting protein of a Dpp type I rece
ptor, Thick veins (Tkv). DIAP1 associates with Tkv in vivo. The bindin
g region in DIAP1 is mapped to its C-terminal RING finger region. DIAP
2, another Drosophila member of the inhibitor of apoptosis protein fam
ily, also interacts with Tkv in vivo. These data suggest that DIAP1 an
d DIAP2 may be involved, possibly as negative regulators, in the Dpp s
ignaling pathway, which leads to cell apoptosis.