Caspase Pro-Domains and the Regulation of Apoptosis

Abstract

Apoptosis is a program of cellular suicide triggered in response to developmental cues, specific signaling events, and cellular insult. Tumor development results from both excess cellular proliferation and a failure of cells to die on schedule by apoptosis. In cancer chemotherapy, it is believed that apoptotic elimination of cells in response to drug-induced damage accounts for much of the treatment efficacy. This project uses a novel in vitro system for studying apoptosis to examine the regulation of the main executioners of apoptosis, the caspases. These enzymes are synthesized as inactive zymogens. In several well-documented cases, it has been shown that the pro-domains present in the inactive pro- caspases regulate caspase activation through the binding of pro and anti-apoptotic molecules. It is the goal of this project to identify and characterize molecules which regulate apoptotic progression through interaction with the procaspase pro-domains.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jul 01, 1999
Accession Number
ADA385417

Entities

People

  • Sally A. Korobluth

Organizations

  • Duke University

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Amino Acids
  • Apoptosis
  • Biomedical And Dental Materials
  • Cell Physiological Processes
  • Cells
  • Chemical Synthesis
  • Chemistry
  • Immune Serums
  • Molecules
  • Organic Chemistry
  • Peptides
  • Polymer Chemistry
  • Polymeric Films
  • Programmed Cell Death
  • Proteins

Fields of Study

  • Biology
  • Chemistry

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