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Cellular stress management by caspases

Luis Alberto Baena-Lopez1, Li Wang1, Franz Wendler2

  • 1Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX13RE, UK.

Current Opinion in Cell Biology
|January 12, 2024
PubMed

Insights

Caspases, enzymes crucial for apoptosis, also manage cellular stress without causing cell death. Understanding these non-lethal roles is key for human health and disease, though caspase therapies face limitations due to incomplete knowledge.

Area of Science:

  • Cellular biology
  • Molecular medicine
  • Biochemistry

Background:

  • Cellular stress is a major factor in human diseases.
  • Dysfunctional cells must be removed via cell death pathways like apoptosis to maintain organ function.
  • Caspases are key proteases in apoptosis.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To discuss the role of caspases as cellular stress managers.
  • To explore the impact of non-lethal caspase functions on human health and disease.
  • To highlight limitations in caspase-based therapies.

Main Methods:

  • Literature review of caspase functions.
  • Analysis of non-apoptotic roles of caspases.
  • Discussion of implications for disease and therapy.

Main Results:

  • Caspases can regulate cellular processes without inducing cell death.
  • Some non-lethal caspase activities may restore cellular balance under stress.
  • Caspase functions extend beyond apoptosis.

Conclusions:

  • Caspases act as crucial cellular stress managers.
  • Further research into non-apoptotic caspase roles is needed for therapeutic development.
  • Current understanding of caspases limits the efficacy of caspase-based therapies.

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