Caspases: enemies within.
Apoptosis, an evolutionarily conserved form of cell suicide, requires specialized machinery. The central component of this machinery is a proteolytic system involving a family of proteases called caspases. These enzymes participate in a cascade that is triggered in response to proapoptotic signals and culminates in cleavage of a set of proteins, resulting in disassembly of the cell. Understanding caspase regulation is intimately linked to the ability to rationally manipulate apoptosis for therapeutic gain.
Thornberry
N A
NA
Department of Biochemistry, Merck Research Laboratories, R80W-250, Post Office Box 2000, Rahway, NJ 07065, USA.
Lazebnik
Y
Y
D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis; D002384:Catalysis; D003546:Cysteine Endopeptidases / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D015853:Cysteine Proteinase Inhibitors / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D004358:Drug Therapy; D004789:Enzyme Activation; D004792:Enzyme Precursors / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy; D013379:Substrate Specificity
D015853:Cysteine Proteinase Inhibitors; D004792:Enzyme Precursors; D003546:Cysteine Endopeptidases