The objective of this experiment was to determine whether the caspase proteolytic system has a role in postmortem tenderization. Six ewes and 6 wethers that were noncarriers and 6 ewes and 6 wethers that were expressing the callipyge gene were used for this study. Caspase activities were determined in LM at 7 different time points during the postmortem storage period: 0 h, 4 h, 8 h, 24 h, 2 d, ...

Synapse loss occurs normally during development and pathologically during neurodegenerative disease. Long-term depression, a proposed physiological correlate of synapse elimination, requires caspase-3 and the mitochondrial pathway of apoptosis. Here, we show that caspase-3 activity is essential--and can act locally within neurons--for regulation of spine density and dendrite morphology. By phot...

Caspase-3 cleavage and activation are known to play central roles in apoptosis. However, the mechanisms that regulate caspase-3 cleavage remain elusive. Glutaredoxin (Grx) is a ubiquitous redox molecule that is unique in its ability to regulate S-glutathiolation (glutathiolation) of proteins. Here we show the essential role of Grx in caspase-3 cleavage via regulation of caspase-3 glutathiolatio...

Human tissue inflammation is terminated, at least in part, by the death of inflammatory neutrophils by apoptosis. The regulation of this process is therefore key to understanding and manipulating inflammation resolution. Previous data have suggested that the short-lived pro-survival Bcl-2 family protein, Mcl-1, is instrumental in determining neutrophil lifespan. However, Mcl-1 can be cleaved fo...

Caspase-1 and caspase-11 are proinflammatory caspases that regulate cytokine production and leukocyte migration during pathogen infection. In an attempt to identify new intracellular regulators of caspase-11, we found that Flightless-I, a member of the gelsolin superfamily of actin-remodeling proteins, interacts and regulates both caspase-11 and caspase-1. Flightless-I targets caspase-11 to the...

Influenza viruses are able to cause annual epidemics and pandemics due to their mutation rates and reassortment capabilities leading to antigenic shifts and drifts. To identify host response to influenza A and B viruses on A549 and MDCK II cells at low and high MOIs, expressions of MxA and caspases 3, 8, and 9 and BAD, TNFα, and IκBα genes were measured in the cells supernatants. H1N1 and H3N2 ...

The immune competent abdominal adipose tissue, either stored viscerally [visceral adipose tissue (VAT)] or sc [sc adipose tissue (SAT)], has been identified as a source of IL-1β and IL-18. To become active, the proforms of these cytokines require processing by caspase-1, which itself is mediated by the inflammasome. In this descriptive study, we investigate the expression of inflammasome compon...

objective(s): in the current study antioxidant capacities of five different extracts of artemisia ciniformis aerial parts were evaluated by cell-free methods. then seven fractions of the potent extract were selected and their antioxidant capacity was assayed by cell free and cell based methods. materials andmethods: antioxidant ability was measured using the: 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (dpp...

Monocytes are central components of the innate immune response and normally circulate for a short period of time before undergoing spontaneous apoptosis. During inflammation, differentiation, or oncogenic transformation, the life span of monocytes is prolonged by preventing the activation of the apoptotic program. Here we showed that caspase-3, a cysteine protease required for monocyte apoptosi...