Recent studies have demonstrated that Che-1 exhibits a strong anti-apoptotic activity at least in part by regulating the expression of XIAP, an inhibitor of the enzymatic activity of caspases involved in apoptosis activation.34 AATF, the rat Che-1 orthologous gene, antagonizes Par-4 (prostate apoptosis response-4)-induced apoptosis, which is associated with neuronal degeneration observed in Alzheimer's disease.12 This evidence concerns the gene XIAP and early-onset autosomal dominant Alzheimer disease.