title: General in vitro caspase assay procedures.
abstract: One of the most valuable tools that have been developed for the study of apoptosis is the availability of recombinant active caspases. The determination of caspase substrate preference, the design of sensitive substrates and potent inhibitors, the resolution of caspase structures, the elucidation of their activation mechanisms, and the identification of their substrates were made possible by the availability of sufficient amounts of enzymatically pure caspases. The current chapter describes at length the expression, purification, and basic enzymatic characterization of apoptotic caspases.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Molecular Bioscience, University of Queensland, St. Lucia, QLD, Australia.
authors.forename: Dave
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Boucher
authors.forename: Catherine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Duclos
authors.forename: Jean-Bernard
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Denault
mesh_terms: D017209:Apoptosis / Q000235:genetics; D061945:Caspase Inhibitors / Q000737:chemistry; D020169:Caspases / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D004789:Enzyme Activation; D006801:Humans; D008967:Molecular Biology / Q000379:methods*; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*; D013379:Substrate Specificity
chemical_list: D061945:Caspase Inhibitors; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D020169:Caspases