Etude des transcrits et fonction d'Amotl2, une proteine potentiellement reliee a l'angiogenese et a l'inflammation (French and English text)

Angiogenesis is a multistep process by which new blood vessels are formed from a preexisting vascular network. Neovascularization occurs under physiological circumstances, such as wound healing and the reproductive cycle and also during the progression of certain diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and cancer. Angiostatin is a potent and specific inhibitor of angiogenesis and binds angiomotin (Amot). Amot increases the random migration of endothelial cells, an important process during angiogenesis. Amot shares significant homology with two other polypeptides, namely, angiomotin-like 1 (Amotl1) and angiomotin-like 2 (Amotl2). Amot, together with these two polypeptides, forms a novel family of proteins known as the motins. This project addresses the characterization of Amotl2, specifically the investigation of Amotl2 transcripts and the function of this protein. The expression of alternative transcripts was examined in different cell lines and human tissues. Two alternative transcripts that are tissue-specific were identified. The subcellular localization of Amotl2 as well as its association to the cytoskeleton and other cellular proteins was studied. Two proteins that interact with Amotl2 were identified, namely, human CLP36 and Amotl1.