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The emerging role of serine proteases in apoptosis

K L Moffitt1, S L Martin, B Walker

  • 1School of Pharmacy, Queen's University, Belfast BT9 7BL, Northern Ireland, UK. kellylmoffitt@hotmail.com

Biochemical Society Transactions
|May 22, 2007
PubMed

Insights

Unregulated apoptosis involves disrupted proteolytic balance. Serine proteases are emerging as key mediators of cell death and potential therapeutic targets.

Area of Science:

  • Biochemistry
  • Molecular Biology
  • Cell Biology

Background:

  • Apoptosis, or programmed cell death, is crucial for development and homeostasis.
  • Dysregulated apoptosis contributes to various diseases, often linked to aberrant proteolytic activity.
  • Caspases have been traditionally recognized as primary executioners of apoptosis.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To explore the roles of non-caspase proteases in apoptosis.
  • To investigate the involvement of serine proteases in the late stages of apoptosis.
  • To identify novel therapeutic targets for apoptosis-related diseases.

Main Methods:

  • Review of existing literature on apoptosis and protease function.
  • Analysis of studies implicating various protease families (calpains, cathepsins, granzymes, proteasome) in cell death.
  • Examination of research focusing on serine proteases in nuclear events during apoptosis.

Main Results:

  • Non-caspase proteases, including calpains, cathepsins, granzymes, and the proteasome, play significant roles in apoptosis.
  • Serine proteases are increasingly implicated in mediating nuclear events of late-stage apoptosis, such as chromatin condensation and DNA fragmentation.
  • Evidence suggests serine proteases offer alternative or additional therapeutic avenues.

Conclusions:

  • The understanding of apoptosis regulation extends beyond caspases to include a diverse array of proteases.
  • Serine proteases represent a promising class of enzymes for therapeutic intervention in diseases associated with apoptosis.
  • Further research into serine protease function in apoptosis could yield novel treatment strategies.

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