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Related Concept Videos

Caspases01:24

Caspases

Caspase, a family of cysteine proteases, serve as effectors in apoptosis. The ced3 gene in C.elegans was first identified to be involved in apoptosis. This gene encodes the ced-3 caspase that is similar to the interleukin-1-beta converting enzyme or ICE in mammals. In addition to apoptosis, caspases also function in the inflammatory response. Inflammatory caspases are essential in activating pro-inflammatory cytokines that recruit immune cells and block the replication of pathogens inside cells.
The Extrinsic Apoptotic Pathway01:17

The Extrinsic Apoptotic Pathway

The extrinsic apoptotic pathway is initiated when extracellular death-inducing signals, such as specific cytokines, activate the death receptors expressed on the cell surface. The immune cells involved in this pathway are natural killer cells (NK cells) and cytotoxic T-lymphocytes. NK cells are critical in innate immune response, while cytotoxic T-lymphocytes are associated with adaptive immune response. These cells recognize specific receptors expressed on the altered cells and activate...
The Intrinsic Apoptotic Pathway01:31

The Intrinsic Apoptotic Pathway

Internal cellular stress, such as cellular injury or hypoxia, triggers intrinsic apoptosis. The B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2) family of proteins are the primary regulators of the intrinsic apoptotic pathway. For example, during DNA damage, checkpoint proteins, such as Ataxia Telangiectasia Mutated (ATM protein) and Checkpoints Factor-2 (Chk2) proteins, are activated. These proteins phosphorylate p53 which further activates pro-apoptotic proteins, such as Bax, Bak, PUMA, and Noxa, and inhibits...
Apoptosis01:30

Apoptosis

Apoptosis is a combination of two Greek words, 'apo' and 'ptosis,' meaning separation and falling off, respectively. Hippocrates used this word to describe gangrene, which was caused due to bandaging of fractured bones. Apoptosis was distinguished from necrosis in 1970 when John Kerr reported observations of morphological changes occurring during apoptosis. During one experiment, he observed that the disruption of blood supply to the liver tissue resulted in a size reduction of the tissue.
CRISPR and crRNAs02:53

CRISPR and crRNAs

Bacteria and archaea are susceptible to viral infections just like eukaryotes; therefore, they have developed a unique adaptive immune system to protect themselves. Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats and CRISPR-associated proteins (CRISPR-Cas) are present in more than 45% of known bacteria and 90% of known archaea.
The CRISPR-Cas system stores a copy of foreign DNA in the host genome and uses it to identify the foreign DNA upon reinfection. CRISPR-Cas has three different...
The Proteasome02:18

The Proteasome

Eukaryotic cells can degrade proteins through several pathways. One of the most important amongst these is the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway. It helps the cell eliminate the misfolded, damaged, or unwarranted cytoplasmic proteins in a highly specific manner.
In this pathway, the target proteins are first tagged with small proteins called ubiquitin. A series of enzymes carry out the ubiquitination of the target proteins - E1 (ubiquitin-activating enzyme), E2 (ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme), and E3...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 2, 2026

Measuring Caspase Activity Using a Fluorometric Assay or Flow Cytometry
05:29

Measuring Caspase Activity Using a Fluorometric Assay or Flow Cytometry

Published on: March 24, 2023

Executioner caspase-3 and caspase-7 are functionally distinct proteases.

John G Walsh1, Sean P Cullen, Clare Sheridan

  • 1Molecular Cell Biology Laboratory, Department of Genetics, The Smurfit Institute, Trinity College, Dublin 2, Ireland.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
|August 30, 2008
PubMed
Summary

Caspase-3 and caspase-7 are key apoptosis proteins. This study reveals they have distinct roles, with caspase-3 being more active and the primary executioner, challenging the idea of redundancy in cell death.

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Last Updated: Jul 2, 2026

Measuring Caspase Activity Using a Fluorometric Assay or Flow Cytometry
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Measuring Caspase Activity Using a Fluorometric Assay or Flow Cytometry

Published on: March 24, 2023

Lighting Up the Pathways to Caspase Activation Using Bimolecular Fluorescence Complementation
08:47

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Published on: March 5, 2018

In Vitro Cleavage Assays using Purified Recombinant Drosophila Caspases for Substrate Screening
08:16

In Vitro Cleavage Assays using Purified Recombinant Drosophila Caspases for Substrate Screening

Published on: October 6, 2022

Area of Science:

  • Cell Biology
  • Biochemistry
  • Molecular Biology

Background:

  • Caspases are cysteine proteases crucial for apoptosis (programmed cell death).
  • Caspase-3 and caspase-7 are considered major executioner caspases.
  • Previous research suggested functional redundancy between caspase-3 and caspase-7 due to similar substrate activity.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the functional differences between caspase-3 and caspase-7.
  • To determine if these proteases have distinct roles in vivo despite similar in vitro activity.
  • To provide a molecular basis for observed phenotypic differences in caspase-deficient mice.

Main Methods:

  • Comparative analysis of caspase-3 and caspase-7 activity against natural substrates.
  • In vivo studies using caspase-deficient mouse models.
  • Substrate cleavage assays using proteins like Bid, XIAP, gelsolin, caspase-6, and p23.

Main Results:

  • Caspase-3 and caspase-7 exhibit differential cleavage activity toward multiple natural substrates.
  • Caspase-3 demonstrates broader substrate specificity (more promiscuous) compared to caspase-7.
  • Caspase-3 is identified as the predominant executioner caspase during the demolition phase of apoptosis.

Conclusions:

  • Caspase-3 and caspase-7 possess nonredundant roles in the cell death machinery.
  • Differential substrate cleavage explains the distinct phenotypes observed in mice lacking either caspase-3 or caspase-7.
  • The findings challenge the notion of functional redundancy and highlight specific roles for each executioner caspase.