We report here the purification of the third protein factor, Apaf-3, that participates in caspase-3
activation in vitro. Apaf-3 was identified as a member of the caspase family, caspase-9. …

Activation of procaspase-9 by Apaf-1 in the cytochrome c/dATP–dependent pathway
requires proteolytic cleavage to generate the mature caspase molecule. To elucidate the …

Inhibitor of apoptosis (IAP) gene products play an evolutionarily conserved role in regulating
programmed cell death in diverse species ranging from insects to humans. Human XIAP, …

Bcl-2 and related proteins are key regulators of apoptosis or programmed cell death
implicated in human disease including cancer. We recently showed that cell-permeable Bcl-2 …

X-linked inhibitor-of-apoptosis protein (XIAP) interacts with caspase-9 and inhibits its activity
1 , 2 , 3 , whereas Smac (also known as DIABLO) relieves this inhibition through interaction …

Release of cytochrome c from mitochondria by apoptotic signals induces ATP/dATP-dependent
formation of the oligomeric Apaf-1–caspase-9 apoptosome. Here we show that the …

To identify human proteins that bind to the Smac and caspase-9 binding pocket on the
baculoviral inhibitor of apoptosis protein (IAP) repeat 3 (BIR3) domain of human XIAP, we used …

The inhibitor of apoptosis (IAP) proteins potently inhibit the catalytic activity of caspases.
While profound insight into the inhibition of the effector caspases has been gained in recent …

A human receptor for the cytotoxic ligand TRAIL (TRAIL receptor-1, designated DR4) was
identified recently as a member of the tumor necrosis factor receptor family. In this report we …

Emerging evidence suggests that an amplifiable protease cascade consisting of multiple
aspartate specific cysteine proteases (ASCPs) is responsible for the apoptotic changes …