Contrasting Effects of IG20 and Its Splice Isoforms, MADD and DENN-SV, on Tumor Necrosis Factor α-induced Apoptosis and Activation of Caspase-8 and -3

We identified a novel cDNA (IG20) that is homologous to cDNAs encoding a protein d ifferentially e xpressed in n ormal and n eoplastic cells (DENN-SV) and human MADD ( M APK- a ctivating d eath d omain-containing protein). Furthermore, we show that the above variants most likely result from alternative splicing of a single gene. Functional analyses of these variants in permanently transfected HeLa cells revealed that IG20 and DENN-SV render them more susceptible or resistant to tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α)-induced apoptosis, respectively. All variants tested could interact with TNF receptor 1 and activate ERK and nuclear factor κB. However, relative to control cells, only cells expressing IG20 showed enhanced TNF-α-induced activation of caspase-8 and -3, whereas cells expressing DENN-SV showed either reduced or no caspase activation. Transfection of these cells with a cDNA encoding CrmA maximally inhibited apoptosis in HeLa-IG20 cells. Our results show that IG20 can promote TNF-α-induced apoptosis and activation of caspase-8 and -3 and suggest that it may play a novel role in the regulation of the pleiotropic effects of TNF-α through alternative splicing.