Role of programmed cell death 4 in diseases: a double-edged sword

摘要

The molecule of programmed cell death 4(PDCD4)is named based on its upregulation during apoptosis.It is now known that PDCD4 is highly conserved during evolution and widely expressed in the immune cells and non-immune cells of humans and other animals.PDCD4,as an inhibitor of gene transcription and translation,is very important in maintaining the normal function of cells.1,2 PDCD4 protein contains an N-terminal domain and two MA-3 domains in the central and C-terminal regions.The MA-3 domains can competitively bind to the translation initiation factor eIF4A with eIF4G to inhibit eIF4A activity and to impact the translation of specific mRNAs containing structured 5′-untranslated regions(5′UTRs).