The inhibition of Bax activation-induced apoptosis by RasGRP2 via R-Ras-PI3K-Akt signaling pathway in the endothelial cells

Apoptosis of endothelial cells is a very important event in various diseases and angiogenesis. We recently reported that ras guanyl nucleotide releasing protein 2 (RasGRP2), which is a guanine nucleotide exchange factor, was expressed in the human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and that Rap1 activation by its overexpression inhibited apoptosis by suppressing tumor necrosis factor-α induced-reactive oxygen species (ROS) production....