1. RelA Life and Death Decisions
Shigeki Miyamoto 
Molecular Cell 
Volume 13, Issue 6, Pages (March 2004)
DOI: /S (04)

2. Figure 1 Life and Death Decisions by RelA
(A) TNFα stimulation of different cell types leads to the activation of the IκB kinase complex (IKK), resulting in phosphorylation and degradation of IκB proteins to release free RelA. Upon nuclear translocation, RelA activates transcription of its target genes, including antiapoptotic genes, through the recruitment of coactivators (histone acetyltransferases, HAT). Induction of these latter genes promotes cell survival.
(B) When certain cancer cell lines are exposed to DNA damaging agents, such as UV-C, doxorubicin, or daunorubicin, IKK-dependent release of RelA is also induced. However, RelA is functionally distinct in this case (denoted by a red dot and dashed arrow with a question mark), such that it is an activator for certain target genes, but is a selective and dominant repressor of antiapoptotic genes to promote cell death. This repression is mediated in part by the recruitment of corepressors (histone deacetylases, HDAC). The red dot on RelA could represent distinct phosphorylation events or specific interaction with certain regulatory factors.
Molecular Cell  , DOI: ( /S (04) )