Mitochondria, Bcl-2 family proteins and apoptosomes: of worms, flies and men.
Initiator caspases are activated within specialized complexes, one of which is the apoptosome. The apoptosome is always constituted by at least an initiator caspase and a caspase activator. Apoptosome activation enables maturation of the associated caspase and constitutes a key step for cell fate. This activating complex is found throughout metazoans but its composition and regulation seem slightly different from one species to another. This review focuses on the composition and activation of the apoptosome in different species and details the role of mitochondrial factors and Bcl-2 family members in this activation.
Colin
Jessie
J
Universite Versailles St-Quentin, Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, UMR8159, Laboratoire de Genétique et Biologie Cellulaire, 45 av des Etats-Unis 78035 Versailles cedex France.
Gaumer
Sebastien
S
Guenal
Isabelle
I
Mignotte
Bernard
B
D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans; D020169:Caspases / Q000378:metabolism; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster; D004789:Enzyme Activation; D006801:Humans; D008928:Mitochondria / Q000378:metabolism*; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 / Q000378:metabolism*
D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2; D020169:Caspases