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Updated: Aug 26, 2026

Lighting Up the Pathways to Caspase Activation Using Bimolecular Fluorescence Complementation
Published on: March 4, 2018
Activation and role of caspases in chemotherapy-induced apoptosis
Estelle Schmitt1, Alain-Théophile Sané, Richard Bertrand
1Hospital Research Center of University of Montreal, Notre-Dame Hospital, Montreal Cancer Institute, Montreal, Canada
Abstract:
The importance of caspase activation during apoptosis has become eminently apparent in the last few years. The caspases participate in a proteolytic cascade activated in response to various stimuli, including anticancer drugs, that results in the systematic and orderly eradication of the cell. The core machinery of caspase activation is now emerging and involves multiple molecular complexes. We describe the two best-studied models of caspase activation, the mitochondrial pathway and the cell death receptor pathway, and discuss their involvement in caspase activation induced by various anticancer drugs used in chemotherapy. Defective apoptosis contributes to tumor growth and drug resistance. Understanding the activation and role of caspases in apoptosis may help develop new therapeutic strategies to circumvent drug resistance. Copyright 1999 Harcourt Publishers Ltd.
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