Title:
Apoptosis & Caspase 3 - PMAP

Description:
http://www.proteolysis.org/proteases/m_summarypg/pmap.22035 Caspase-3 is a death protease, catalyzing the specific cleavage of many key cellular proteins. Pathways to caspase-3 activation have been identified that are either dependent on or independent of mitochondrial cytochrome c release and caspase-9 function. Caspase-3 is essential for normal brain development and is important or essential in other apoptotic scenarios in a remarkable tissue-, cell type- or death stimulus-specific manner. Caspase-3 is also required for some typical hallmarks of apoptosis, and is indispensable for apoptotic chromatin condensation and DNA fragmentation in all cell types examined. Apoptotic proteins that target mitochondria affect them in different ways; they may cause mitochondrial swelling through the formation of membrane pores, or they may increase the permeability of the mitochondrial membrane and cause apoptotic effectors to leak out. Cytochrome c is also released from mitochondria due to formation of a channel, MAC, in the outer mitochondrial membrane, and serves a regulatory function as it precedes morphological change associated with apoptosis. Once cytochrome c is released it binds with Apaf-1 and ATP, which then bind to pro-caspase-9 to create a protein complex known as an apoptosome. The apoptosome cleaves the pro-caspase to its active form of caspase-9, which in turn activates the effector caspase-3. Design & production: Kosi Gramatikoff, PhD; client: John C. Reed, MD PhD

Author:
kosigrim

Tags:
apaf, Apoptosis, apoptosome, bax, caspase, Cytochrome, enzyme, mitochondria, PMAP, protease,