Apoptosis is a morphologically defined form of programmed cell death (PCD) that is mediated by the activation of members of the caspase family. Analysis of death-receptor signaling in lymphocytes has revealed that caspase-dependent signaling pathways are also linked to cell death by nonapoptotic mechanisms, indicating that apoptosis is not the only form of PCD. Under physiological and pathologi...

After colonization or invasion, intracellular pathogens seek host cells to establish infections and facilitate replication. This lifestyle provides essential nutrients and protection from immune systems. Several host cells—in particular professional phagocytes, such as monocytes, macrophages, and neutrophils—have developed antimicrobial mechanisms to deplete the replicative niche of these intra...

During development, programmed cell death is regulated by cell-cell signals that either promote or inhibit caspase activation (Meier et al., 2000a). The biochemical mechanisms of extracellular regulation are incompletely known. Here, they have been studied using an antibody to detect caspase activation in vivo. Caspases are a class of intracellular cysteine proteases that cause cell death by cl...

The caspase family of cysteine proteases plays a conserved role in the coordinate demolition of cellular structures during programmed cell death from nematodes to man. Because cells undergoing programmed cell death in nematodes, flies, and mammals all share common features, this suggests that caspases target a common set of cellular structures in each of these organisms. However, although many ...

Houttuynia cordata Thunb. is an edible and medicinal plant that belongs to the family of Saururaceae widely distributes in Eastern Asia countries. H. have been reported as a promising anticancer agent against various cancer cells. This study was determine anti-proliferative effect extract on gastric cells using vitro experimental model. The cytotoxicity examined via 2,5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium ...

The extent of conservation in the programmed cell death pathways that are activated in species belonging to different kingdoms is not clear. Caspases are key components of animal apoptosis; caspase activities are detected in both animal and plant cells. Yet, while animals have caspase genes, plants do not have orthologous sequences in their genomes. It is 10 years since the first caspase activi...

Caspases are cysteine proteases that mediate programmed cell death in phylogenetically diverse multicellular organisms. We report here two kindreds with autoimmune lymphoproliferative syndrome (ALPS) type II, characterized by abnormal lymphocyte and dendritic cell homeostasis and immune regulatory defects, that harbor independent missense mutations in Caspase 10. These encode amino acid substit...

Apoptosis is the process of programmed cell death executed by specific proteases, the caspases, which mediate the cleavage of various vital proteins. Elucidating the consequences of this endoproteolytic cleavage is crucial to understanding cell death and other related biological processes. Although a number of possible roles for caspase-6 have been proposed, the identities and functions of prot...

Histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors can induce programmed cell death in cancer cells, although the underlying mechanism is obscure. In this study, we show that two distinct HDAC inhibitors, butyrate and suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid (SAHA), induced caspase-3 activation and cell death in multiple human cancer cell lines. The activation of caspase-3 was via the mitochondria/cytochrome c-media...