title: Non-apoptotic role of caspase-3 in synapse refinement.
abstract: Caspases, a family of cysteine proteases, mediate programmed cell death during early neural development and neurodegeneration, as well as following neurotoxic insults. Notably, accumulating lines of evidence have shown non-apoptotic roles of caspases in the structural and functional plasticity of neuronal circuits under physiological conditions, such as growth-cone dynamics and axonal/dendritic pruning, as well as neuronal excitability and plasticity. Here, we summarize recent progress on the roles of caspases in synaptic refinement.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Neuroscience, State Key Laboratory of Neuroscience, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200031, China.
authors.forename: Jin-Yuan
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Zhen-Ge
authors.initials: ZG
authors.lastname: Luo
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis; D053148:Caspase 3 / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D009469:Neuromuscular Junction / Q000201:enzymology; D009473:Neuronal Plasticity; D013569:Synapses / Q000201:enzymology*
chemical_list: D053148:Caspase 3