Caspases and their many biological functions

Caspases: evolutionary aspects of their functions in vertebrates

Caspases (cysteine-dependent aspartyl-specific protease) belong to a family of cysteine proteases that mediate proteolytic events indispensable for biological phenomena such as cell death and inflammation. The first caspase was identified as an executioner of apoptotic cell death in the worm Caenorhabditis elegans. Additionally, a large number of caspases have been identified in various animals...

Various functions of caspases in hematopoiesis.

The role of cysteine proteases of the caspase family in apoptosis is well defined. Some caspases were initially shown to be involved in cytokine maturation along inflammatory response. In the recent years, several other non apoptotic functions of caspases were identified. In hematopoietic cells, caspases play a role in specific pathways of differentiation (erythropoiesis, differentiation of mon...

Insulators: many functions, many mechanisms.

Venom Proteins from Parasitoid Wasps and Their Biological Functions

Parasitoid wasps are valuable biological control agents that suppress their host populations. Factors introduced by the female wasp at parasitization play significant roles in facilitating successful development of the parasitoid larva either inside (endoparasitoid) or outside (ectoparasitoid) the host. Wasp venoms consist of a complex cocktail of proteinacious and non-proteinacious components ...

Sucrose metabolism gene families and their biological functions

Sucrose, as the main product of photosynthesis, plays crucial roles in plant development. Although studies on general metabolism pathway were well documented, less information is available on the genome-wide identification of these genes, their expansion and evolutionary history as well as their biological functions. We focused on four sucrose metabolism related gene families including sucrose ...