Caspases are proteases at the heart of networks that govern apoptosis and inflammation. The past decade has seen huge leaps in understanding the biology and chemistry of the caspases, largely through the development of synthetic substrates and inhibitors. Such agents are used to define the role of caspases in transmitting life and death signals, in imaging caspases in situ and in vivo, and in d...

Mounting evidence suggests the involvement of caspases in the disease process associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD). The activation of caspases may be responsible for the neurodegeneration associated with AD and several recent studies have suggested that caspases may also play a role in promoting pathogenic mechanisms underlying this disease. Thus, caspase activation and cleavage of the amyl...

The inhibitors of apoptosis proteins (IAPs) are endogenous inhibitors for apoptosis. Apoptosis is carried out by caspases, which are the family of cystein proteases. IAPs regulate caspases through two conserved regions, the baculovirus IAP repeats (BIRs) and the really interesting new gene (RING) domains. Although the BIRs are responsible for binding to caspases, the RING domain can act as a ub...

The destruction of cellular targets during apoptosis is carried out by caspases, which are negatively regulated by the inhibitor of apoptosis proteins (IAP); however, death effector domain (DED) caspases of the extrinsic pathway are refractory to the IAP family. We have isolated a family of apoptotic inhibitors [caspases-8- and -10-associated RING proteins (CARPs)] that bind to and negatively r...

Members of the baculovirus p35 gene family encode proteins that specifically inhibit caspases, cysteine proteases that are involved in apoptosis. To date, p35 homologs have only been found in baculoviruses. We have identified AMVp33, a gene from Amsacta moorei entomopoxvirus with low but significant homology to baculovirus p35 genes. Expression of AMVp33 blocked apoptosis in several different i...

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...