title: Interaction of CED-4 with CED-3 and CED-9: a molecular framework for cell death.
abstract: Previous genetic studies of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans identified three important components of the cell death machinery. CED-3 and CED-4 function to kill cells, whereas CED-9 protects cells from death. Here CED-9 and its mammalian homolog Bcl-xL (a member of the Bcl-2 family of cell death regulators) were both found to interact with and inhibit the function of CED-4. In addition, analysis revealed that CED-4 can simultaneously interact with CED-3 and its mammalian counterparts interleukin-1beta-converting enzyme (ICE) and FLICE. Thus, CED-4 plays a central role in the cell death pathway, biochemically linking CED-9 and the Bcl-2 family to CED-3 and the ICE family of pro-apoptotic cysteine proteases.
authors.affiliation: University of Michigan Medical School, Department of Pathology, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Chinnaiyan
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: O'Rourke
authors.forename: B R
authors.initials: BR
authors.lastname: Lane
authors.forename: V M
authors.initials: VM
authors.lastname: Dixit
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis; D051017:Apoptosis Regulatory Proteins; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000166:cytology* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins; D002135:Calcium-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D020170:Caspase 1; D053181:Caspase 8; D053453:Caspase 9; D020169:Caspases; D002460:Cell Line; D003546:Cysteine Endopeptidases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D017238:Genes, Helminth; D015801:Helminth Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D009154:Mutation; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2; D014162:Transfection; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured; D051020:bcl-X Protein
chemical_list: D051017:Apoptosis Regulatory Proteins; C494811:BCL2L1 protein, human; D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins; D002135:Calcium-Binding Proteins; C089224:Ced-4 protein, C elegans; C087233:Ced-9 protein, C elegans; D015801:Helminth Proteins; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2; D051020:bcl-X Protein; C505530:CASP8 protein, human; C506433:CASP9 protein, human; D053181:Caspase 8; D053453:Caspase 9; D020169:Caspases; D003546:Cysteine Endopeptidases; C089223:ced-3 protein, C elegans; D020170:Caspase 1