Caspase-8 is activated at the plasma membrane by the death-inducing signaling complex (DISC). Jin et al. (2009) show that polyubiquitination of caspase-8, rather than targeting it for proteasomal degradation, is critical for sustaining caspase-8 activity after dissociation from the DISC.

Beta1-integrin protects keratinocyte stem cells (KSC) from cell-detachment apoptosis ('anoikis'). Here we show that caspase-8 active protein is detected in both young transit amplifying (TA) cells and TA cells, but not in KSC. On suspension, caspases are activated earlier in young TA than in KSC, whereas anti-beta1-integrin neutralizing antibody accelerates caspase activation in both KSC and yo...

We recently described the induction of noncanonical IL-1β processing via caspase-8 recruited to ripoptosome signaling platforms in myeloid leukocytes. Here, we demonstrate that activated NLRP3·ASC inflammasomes recruit caspase-8 to drive IL-1β processing in murine bone marrow-derived dendritic cells (BMDC) independent of caspase-1 and -11. Sustained stimulation (>2 h) of LPS-primed caspase-1-de...

The activation of caspase-8, a crucial upstream mediator of death receptor signaling, was investigated in epirubicin- and Taxol-induced apoptosis of B-lymphoma cells. This study was performed because the CD95/Fas receptor-ligand interaction, recruitment of the Fas-associated death domain (FADD) adaptor protein, and subsequent activation of procaspase-8 have been implicated in the execution of d...

Autophagy and apoptosis regulate cancer cell viability in response to cytotoxic stress; however, their functional relationship remains unclear. p62/sequestosome 1 is a multifunctional protein and a signaling hub that shuttles ubiquitinated proteins to the lysosome during autophagy. Autophagy inhibition up-regulates p62, and prior data suggest that p62 may mediate apoptosis. Here, we demonstrate...

Caspase-8 (Fas-associating protein with death domain-like interleukin-1beta- converting enzyme [FLICE]/MACH/Mch5) belongs to a family of cysteine proteases presumed to be the apex of the apoptotic signaling pathways. We recently reported the presence of a novel isoform of caspase-8, named caspase-8L, generated by the alternative splicing of human caspase-8 gene, from human peripheral blood lymp...

We show that Mach-Zehnder interferometers (MZIs) formed from waveguides in a perfectly reflecting cladding can display manifestly different transmission characteristics to conventional MZIs due to mode recirculation and resonant reflection. Understanding and exploiting this behavior, rather than avoiding it, may lead to improved performance of photonic crystal (PC) based MZIs, for which claddin...

Fas-associated death domain protein (FADD), caspase-8-related protein (Casper), and caspase-8 are components of the tumor necrosis factor receptor type 1 (TNF-R1) and Fas signaling complexes that are involved in TNF-R1and Fas-induced apoptosis. Here we show that overexpression of FADD and Casper potently activates NF-kB. In the presence of caspase inhibitors, overexpression of caspase-8 also ac...

OSW-1 is a new member of cholestane saponin family, which is cytotoxic against several types of malignant cells. We reported herein that OSW-1 induced apoptosis of mammalian cells in a concentration- and time-dependent manner. The drug-induced apoptosis was mediated through the mitochondrial pathway, involving the cleavage of Bcl-2. This drug-induced Bcl-2 cleavage in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO...