Nuclear localized protein-1 (Nulp1) increases cell death of human osteosarcoma cells and binds the X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis protein

Nuclear localized protein-1 (Nulp1) is a recently identified gene expressed in mouse and human tissues particularly during embryonic development. Nulp1 belongs to the family of basic helix–loop–helix (bHLH) proteins that are important in development. The precise function of Nulp1 in cells is however not known. We observed that overexpression of Nulp1 induces a large increase in cell death of human osteosarcoma Saos2 cells with DNA fragmentation. In mouse N2A neuroblastoma cells Nulp1 affected cell proliferation and sensitized cells towards death induced by staurosporine. Staining using a novel antibody localized Nulp1 mainly to the cell nucleus and to some extent to the cytoplasm. Nulp1 binds the X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis protein (XIAP) and this interaction was increased during cell death. These results indicate that Nulp1 plays a role in cell death control and may influence tumor growth.