Anti-Human Apoptosis Antagonizing Transcription Factor (AATF)

AATF (apoptosis antagonizing transcription factor) was initially discovered as an interaction partner of ZIP kinase (ZIPK) (1), a member of death-associated protein (DAP) kinase family of pro-apoptotic serine/threonine kinases (2). AATF is a phosphoprotein containing an acidic region and a putative leucine zipper domain and nuclear localization signal, features which are typical of transcription factors. AATF inhibits the ZIPK-mediated pro-apoptotic pathway and may activate other anti-apoptotic pathways (3). Recently, it has also been shown to protect neural cells against oxidative damage induced by amyloid b-peptide and to inhibit aberrant production of the b-peptide by interacting with Par-4 (prostate apoptosis response-4), another pro-apoptotic leucine zipper protein that is associated with neuronal degeneration in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) (4,5), suggesting that AATF may have potential therapeutic applications in both familial and sporadic forms of AD.