The present study explored the effects of alanine (Ala), citrulline (Cit), proline (Pro) and their combination (Ala10Pro4Cit1) on the activities of caspases and levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and cytochrome c in hydroxyl radicals (•OH)-induced carp erythrocytes. The data displayed that •OH induced the increases in the activities of caspase-3, caspase-8 and caspase-9 and the levels of R...

BACKGROUND Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is characterized by autoantibodies against various cellular components. OBJECTIVE To determine the presence or levels of antibodies (Abs) against a protease domain (PD) of caspase-8 and their clinical relevance in SSc. METHODS Anti-caspase-8 PD Ab was examined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and immunoblotting using human recombinant caspase-8 PD. Ca...

We used biopsy specimens of primary nodal diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) to investigate whether the inhibition of caspase 8 and/or 9 apoptosis signaling pathways predicts clinical outcome. Expression levels of cellular FLICE inhibitory protein (c-Flip) and numbers of active caspase 3-positive lymphoma cells were used to determine the status of the caspase 8-mediated pathway. Expression l...

Caspase inhibition is a promising approach for treating multiple diseases. Using a reconstituted assay and high-throughput screening, we identified a group of nonpeptide caspase inhibitors. These inhibitors share common chemical scaffolds, suggesting the same mechanism of action. They can inhibit apoptosis in various cell types induced by multiple stimuli; they can also inhibit caspase-1-mediat...

Wide-spectrum caspase inhibition by the baculoviral p35 protein was previously shown to be a consequence of covalent inhibition in which a thioester bond is stably formed between the cleavage residue Asp87 of p35 and the active site Cys360' of caspase-8. Here we show that the N-terminal fragment of cleaved p35 (p35-N) is a circular peptide when dissociated from the caspase. Biochemical and crys...

Olfactory receptor neurons (ORNs) undergo caspase-mediated retrograde apoptosis after target removal (bulbectomy), in which axonal caspase-9 and caspase-3 activation leads to terminal apoptosis in ORN soma of the olfactory epithelium. Here, we show that caspase-8 can act as an initiator of ORN apoptosis after bulbectomy and also after synaptic instability is induced by NMDA-mediated excitotoxic...

objective: this study aimed to evaluate the incidence of apoptosis in vitrified and non-vitrified human ovarian tissue by the use of morphological analysis and apoptosis assay techniques. methods: we obtained human ovarian tissue biopsies from 30 women who underwent elective caesarean sections. tissues were transported to the laboratory in pre-warmed, equilibrated leibovitz l-15 medium within 2...