title: Caspases: killer proteases.
abstract: Caspases (cysteinyl aspartate-specific proteinases) mediate highly specific proteolytic cleavage events in dying cells, which collectively manifest the apoptotic phenotype. The key and central role that these enzymes play in a biochemical cell-suicide pathway has been conserved throughout the evolution of multicellular eukaryotes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Merck Frosst Centre for Therapeutic Research, Merck Frosst Canada Inc., Pointe Claire-Dorval, Quebec, Canada.
authors.forename: D W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Nicholson
authors.forename: N A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Thornberry
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000502:physiology*; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics; D003546:Cysteine Endopeptidases / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D013379:Substrate Specificity
chemical_list: D003546:Cysteine Endopeptidases