Figure 8.

RL2-mediated cell death pathways. RL2 translocates into the cytosol and localizes at the mitochondrial membrane by interaction with TOM70. This interaction leads to a drop of mitochondrial membrane potential and reduces ATP production. The latter might be due to the impairment of the TOM complex function, which is required for the transport of the substrates for ATP synthesis or conformational changes at the outer mitochondrial membrane caused by RL2–TOM70 interaction. The reduced ATP levels lead to cell death.