title: Understanding CARD Tricks in Apoptosomes.
abstract: While earlier studies of Apaf-1 holo-apoptosome architecture revealed the spectacular heptameric wheel-like structure formed by Apaf-1, the central CARD disk responsible for caspase-9 recruitment remained incompletely resolved. In a recent issue of Structure, Su et al. (2017) describe a crystal structure of the complex between Apaf-1 CARD and caspase-9 CARD. Together with two recent cryo-EM structures, this work brings us closer to a full view of the holo-apoptosome.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Harvard Medical School, and Program in Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Harvard Medical School, and Program in Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
authors.forename: Qi
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Qiao
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Harvard Medical School, and Program in Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA. Electronic address: wu@crystal.harvard.edu.
authors.forename: Hao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wu
mesh_terms: D017209:Apoptosis; D053478:Apoptosomes / Q000737:chemistry*; D053477:Apoptotic Protease-Activating Factor 1 / Q000737:chemistry; D053453:Caspase 9 / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D053478:Apoptosomes; D053477:Apoptotic Protease-Activating Factor 1; D053453:Caspase 9