2. Academic Validation
  3. Identification and inhibition of the ICE/CED-3 protease necessary for mammalian apoptosis

Identification and inhibition of the ICE/CED-3 protease necessary for mammalian apoptosis

  • Nature. 1995 Jul 6;376(6535):37-43. doi: 10.1038/376037a0.
D W Nicholson 1,  A Ali,  N A Thornberry,  J P Vaillancourt,  C K Ding,  M Gallant,  Y Gareau,  P R Griffin,  M Labelle,  Y A Lazebnik
Affiliations

Affiliation

  • 1 Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Merck Frosst Centre for Therapeutic Research, Pointe Claire-Dorval, Quebec, Canada.
PMID: 7596430 DOI: 10.1038/376037a0
Abstract

The protease responsible for the cleavage of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase and necessary for Apoptosis has been purified and characterized. This Enzyme, named apopain, is composed of two subunits of relative molecular mass (M(r)) 17K and 12K that are derived from a common proenzyme identified as CPP32. This proenzyme is related to interleukin-1 beta-converting Enzyme (ICE) and CED-3, the product of a gene required for programmed cell death in Caenorhabditis elegans. A potent peptide aldehyde inhibitor has been developed and shown to prevent apoptotic events in vitro, suggesting that apopain/CPP32 is important for the initiation of apoptotic cell death.

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