Proteases in apoptosis.
The interleukin-1 beta-converting enzyme (ICE)-like family proteases have recently been identified as key enzymes in apoptotic cell death. Among these proteases one can identify specific activities which may be involved in cytokine production or in resident protein cleavage. Several factors influence the constitutive apoptotic mechanism and may provide insight into the role of protease(s) in apoptosis. Although it appears that ICE family members play a most important role in promoting apoptotic cell death, evidence has been advanced that other proteases are also involved in sequential or parallel steps of apoptosis. Activation of a particular protease can lead to processing molecules either of the same or different proteases, leading to an activation of a protease cascade. Here we attempt to summarize the current thinking concerning these proteases and their involvement in apoptosis.
Zhivotovsky
B
B
Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
Burgess
D H
DH
Orrenius
S
S
D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis; D020170:Caspase 1; D053148:Caspase 3; D020169:Caspases; D003546:Cysteine Endopeptidases / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D010450:Endopeptidases / Q000502:physiology*; D004789:Enzyme Activation; D006801:Humans; D011506:Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 / Q000502:physiology; D013379:Substrate Specificity; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000502:physiology; D014764:Viral Proteins / Q000502:physiology; D019014:fas Receptor / Q000502:physiology
D011506:Proteins; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; D014764:Viral Proteins; D019014:fas Receptor; D010450:Endopeptidases; C505407:CASP3 protein, human; D053148:Caspase 3; D020169:Caspases; D003546:Cysteine Endopeptidases; D020170:Caspase 1