A novel WD-repeat protein, WDR26, inhibits apoptosis of cardiomyocytes induced by oxidative stress.

WD40 repeat proteins have a variety of functions, such as signal transduction, transcription regulation, cell cycle control, autophagy and apoptosis. WDR26 is a novel protein of WD40 repeat proteins and up-regulated during myocardial cells ischemic preconditioning (IPC) but its role in myocardial cell apoptosis induced by oxidative stress and its subcellular localisation are not clear. So we investigated the subcellular localisation of WDR26 and WDR26 expression in rat myocardial ischaemia-reperfusion injury model and H9c2 cells stimulated by H(2)O(2). The results showed that WDR26 can be located at mitochondria and induced by ischaemia-reperfusion injury and H(2)O(2). Then we examined the effects induced by H(2)O(2) in H9c2 cells WDR26 expression. The results showed that WDR26 expression can inhibit apoptosis induced by H(2)O(2). Further, we demonstrated that WDR26 inhibit cytochrome c release from mitochondria. These founding indicate that WDR26 protects myocardial cells against oxidative stress.