Caspase-9: structure, mechanisms and clinical application

As the most intensively studied initiator caspase, caspase-9 is a key player in the intrinsic or mitochondrial pathway which is involved in various stimuli, including chemotherapies, stress agents and radiation. Caspase-9 is activated on the apoptosome complex to remain catalytic status and is thought of involving homo-dimerization monomeric zymogens. Failing to activate caspase-9 has profound physiological and pathophysiological outcomes, leading to degenerative and developmental disorders even cancer. To govern the apoptotic commitment process appropriately, plenty of proteins and small molecules involved in regulating caspase-9. Therefore, this review is to summarize recent pertinent literature on the comprehensive description of the molecular events implicated in caspase-9 activation and inhibition, as well as the clinical trials in progress to give deep insight into caspase-9 for suppressing cancer. We hope that our concerns will be helpful for further clinical studies addressing the roles of caspase-9 and its regulators demanded to identify more effective solutions to overcome intrinsic apoptosis-related diseases especially cancer.