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Updated: Jun 1, 2026

Measuring Caspase Activity Using a Fluorometric Assay or Flow Cytometry
Published on: March 24, 2023
Effector caspases and leukemia
1Department of Pathophysiology, Key Laboratory of Cell Differentiation and Apoptosis of Ministry of Education, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China.
Abstract:
Caspases, a family of aspartate-specific cysteine proteases, play a major role in apoptosis and a variety of physiological and pathological processes. Fourteen mammalian caspases have been identified and can be divided into two groups: inflammatory caspases and apoptotic caspases. Based on the structure and function, the apoptotic caspases are further grouped into initiator/apical caspases (caspase-2, -8, -9, and -10) and effector/executioner caspases (caspase-3, -6, and -7). In this paper, we discuss what we have learned about the role of individual effector caspase in mediating both apoptotic and nonapoptotic events, with special emphasis on leukemia-specific oncoproteins in relation to effector caspases.
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