Cyclophilin A is a mitochondrial factor that forms complexes with p23. Correlative evidence for an antiapoptotic action

Abstract

Cyclophilin A (CyPA) is an abundant and ubiquitously expressed protein belonging to the immunophilin family that has intrinsic peptidyl-prolyl-(cis/trans)-isomerase enzymatic activity. CyPA mediates immunosuppressive action of the cyclic undecapeptide cyclosporine A and is also involved in multiple cellular processes such as protein folding, intracellular trafficking, signal transduction, and transcriptional regulation. CyPA is abundantly expressed in cancer cells, and due to its chaperone nature, its expression is induced upon the onset of stress. In this study, it is demonstrated that a significant pool of this immunophilin is primarily an intramitochondrial factor that migrates to the nucleus when cells are stimulated with stressors. CyPA shows antiapoptotic action per se and the capability of forming ternary complexes with cytochrome c and the small acidic cochaperone p23, the latter interaction being independent of the usual association of p23 with the heat-shock protein of 90-kDa, Hsp90. These CyPA•p23 complexes enhance the antiapoptotic response of the cell, suggesting that both proteins form a functional unit whose high level of expression plays a significant role in cell survival.