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Updated: Jun 1, 2026

Evaluation of Caspase Activation to Assess Innate Immune Cell Death
Published on: January 20, 2023
Immunodetection of caspase-3 by Western blot using glutaraldehyde
Gabriela Nestal de Moraes1, Érika Carvalho, Raquel C Maia
1Coordination of Clinical Research, Brazilian National Institute of Cancer, CEP 20231-050 Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.
Abstract:
Cell death by apoptosis triggers the engagement of a conserved intracellular machinery of execution, involving mainly the activation of the caspase family of cysteine proteases. Caspase-3 is a common effector of most of the apoptotic pathways and is able to cleave several target proteins whose degradation will contribute to the execution phase of the cell demise program. Here we present a modification of the Western blot protocol to improve sensitivity of caspase-3 detection, providing a valuable tool to access its activation in biological specimens.
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Caspases
Western Blotting
The technique begins with separating proteins from the sample using sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE), followed by protein transfer, immunoblotting, and finally, protein detection.

