title: Cloning and characterization of a novel caspase-10 isoform that activates NF-kappa B activity.
abstract: Caspase-10 (also known as Mch4 and FLICE2) is an initiator caspase in the death receptor (DR)-dependent apoptotic pathway. So far six splice variants (caspase-10a-f) have been identified. Here we describe a novel isoform of the caspase-10 family named caspase-10g that is widely expressed in normal human tissues and various cell lines. Caspase-10g consists of 247 amino acids and does not contain the large or small subunit. A caspase-10g-specific exon is present between exon 5 and exon 6, which results in a protein product truncated shortly after the death-effector domain (DED)-containing prodomain. We further show that overexpression of caspase-10g dramatically enhances NF-kappaB activity in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Moreover, caspase-10g, unlike the protease-active caspase-10a, only promotes slight apoptosis when overexpressed in mammalian cells and it has no effect on caspase-10a-mediated apoptosis. Taken together, these results suggest that caspase-10g, as a novel prodomain-only isoform of caspase-10, may play a regulatory role preferentially in the NF-kappaB pathways.
authors.affiliation: Department of Life Science and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiaotong University, 1954 Huashan Road, Shanghai, 200030, China.
authors.forename: Hui
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Pingzhang
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Xiaoqing
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.forename: Xin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Dalong
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wu
mesh_terms: D017398:Alternative Splicing / Q000235:genetics; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001483:Base Sequence; D053455:Caspase 10 / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D015971:Gene Expression Regulation, Enzymologic; D006367:HeLa Cells; D006801:Humans; D007527:Isoenzymes / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D019169:Jurkat Cells; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016328:NF-kappa B / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000502:physiology; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary / Q000235:genetics; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000235:genetics