title: The enigma of caspase-2: the laymen's view.
abstract: Proteolysis of cellular substrates by caspases (cysteine-dependent aspartate-specific proteases) is one of the hallmarks of apoptotic cell death. Although the activation of apoptotic caspases is considered a 'late-stage' event in apoptosis signaling, past the commitment stage, one caspase family member, caspase-2, splits the cell death community into half - those searching for evidence of an apical initiator function of this molecule and those considering it as an amplifier of the apoptotic caspase cascade, at best, if relevant for apoptosis at all. This review screens past and present biochemical as well as genetic evidence for caspase-2 function in cell death signaling and beyond.
authors.affiliation: Division of Developmental Immunology, Biocenter, Innsbruck Medical University, Innsbruck, Austria.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Krumschnabel
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Sohm
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Bock
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Manzl
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Villunger
mesh_terms: D017209:Apoptosis; D053420:CRADD Signaling Adaptor Protein / Q000378:metabolism; D053143:Caspase 2 / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D016923:Cell Death; D004249:DNA Damage; D015398:Signal Transduction; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D053420:CRADD Signaling Adaptor Protein; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53; D053143:Caspase 2