Roles of caspases in apoptosis, development, and cytokine maturation revealed by homozygous gene deficiencies

Jin Wang, Michael J. Lenardo

Research output: Contribution to journalComment/debatepeer-review

283 Scopus citations

Abstract

Caspases are a group of cysteine proteases critical for apoptosis of eukaryotic cells. Deletion of genes that encode murine caspases suggests that caspases are involved not only in apoptosis but also in cytokine maturation and cell growth and differentiation. Among them, caspase-1 and caspase-11 are primarily involved in the processing of proinflammatory cytokines. Caspase-3 and caspase-9 are essential for apoptosis during brain development. Caspase-8 is required for the development of heart muscle, cell proliferation in the hematopoietic lineage and death-receptor-mediated apoptosis. These studies suggest that caspases function in cell signaling events including apoptosis, cell growth and differentiation.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)753-757
Number of pages5
JournalJournal of Cell Science
Volume113
Issue number5
StatePublished - 2000

Keywords

  • FAS/APO-1/CD95
  • Genetic deficiency
  • Homologous recombination
  • Knockout
  • ced-3

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Cell Biology

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