IAPs: the last choice to survive.
Caspases are harmful intracellular proteolytic enzymes that regulate the cellular suicide. A decade after the discovery of the first caspase an impetuous work from many different labs has endorsed to open our eyes on the complex mechanisms that are responsible for the strictly regulated control of their activity. This research area is not only a wonderland for biologists; an important outcome of these studies is that alterations in the newly identified molecular elements are responsible for different human diseases from neurodegeneration to cancer. This article reviews the molecular mechanisms regulating the formation/activity of the apoptosome, the central engine of the cell death machinery and in particular the function of the Inhibitor of Apoptosis Proteins IAPs.
Brancolini
Claudio
C
Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Biomediche, Sezione di Biologia, Uni- versità di Udine, Udine, Italy. cbrancolini@makek.dstb.uniud.it
D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000502:physiology*; D061945:Caspase Inhibitors; D004330:Drosophila / Q000201:enzymology; D006801:Humans; D051034:Inhibitor of Apoptosis Proteins / Q000502:physiology*; D008954:Models, Biological; D011506:Proteins / Q000502:physiology; D044767:Ubiquitin-Protein Ligases / Q000502:physiology; D000097795:ATPase Inhibitory Protein
D061945:Caspase Inhibitors; D051034:Inhibitor of Apoptosis Proteins; D011506:Proteins; D044767:Ubiquitin-Protein Ligases; D000097795:ATPase Inhibitory Protein