Death Associated Protein (DAP)

Death-associated protein acts as a positive mediator of programmed cell death that is induced by interferon-gamma.The antisense RNA-mediated inactivation of the 2 novel genes protected the cells from the IFNG-induced cell death, but not from the cytostatic effects of the cytokine or from a necrotic type of cell death. One of these genes was death-associated protein kinase-1 . The other, designated death-associated protein (DAP), was expressed as a single 2.4-kb mRNA that encodes a basic, proline-rich, 15-kD protein. The expression levels of the 2 proteins were selectively reduced by the corresponding antisense RNAs. The authors suggested that these 2 novel genes are candidates for positive mediators of programmed cell death that is induced by interferon-gamma.