title: Pathways to caspase activation.
abstract: Apoptosis or programmed cell death is an active form of cell death which is essential for tissue homeostasis. Many proteins are involved in the molecular signal transduction of apoptosis. The caspase enzymes, a family of specific cysteine proteases, play a central role in cell death machinery. In this review, we mainly discuss the current understanding of several pathways to activate caspases and some key proteins related to these pathways.
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology, Beijing Institute of Radiation Medicine, 27 Taiping Road, 100850 Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Zi-Bing
authors.initials: ZB
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Yu-Qing
authors.initials: YQ
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Yu-Fang
authors.initials: YF
authors.lastname: Cui
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis; D053477:Apoptotic Protease-Activating Factor 1; D020169:Caspases / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D045304:Cytochromes c / Q000378:metabolism; D004721:Endoplasmic Reticulum / Q000378:metabolism; D004789:Enzyme Activation; D053804:Granzymes; D006801:Humans; D047908:Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D008928:Mitochondria / Q000378:metabolism; D011065:Poly(ADP-ribose) Polymerases / Q000378:metabolism; D011506:Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D018124:Receptors, Tumor Necrosis Factor / Q000378:metabolism; D012697:Serine Endopeptidases / Q000378:metabolism; D015398:Signal Transduction
chemical_list: C506592:APAF1 protein, human; D053477:Apoptotic Protease-Activating Factor 1; D047908:Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; D011506:Proteins; D018124:Receptors, Tumor Necrosis Factor; D045304:Cytochromes c; D011065:Poly(ADP-ribose) Polymerases; C509213:GZMB protein, human; D053804:Granzymes; D012697:Serine Endopeptidases; D020169:Caspases