Year: 2007
Type: review
Abstract: Proteases were, for a long time, mainly considered as protein degrading enzymes. However, in the last decade this view has changed dramatically, and the focus is now on proteases as signalling molecules. One of the best examples is apoptosis, the major mechanism used by eukaryotes to remove superfluous, damaged and potentially dangerous cells, in which a number of proteases have been found to play a central role. Of these the caspases have been considered to be the major players. However, more recently, other proteases have been increasingly suggested as being important in apoptosis, in particular the cysteine cathepsins. In this review the roles of caspases and cysteine cathepsins in apoptosis signalling are compared and discussed.
Source: FEBS Letters
Authors: Boris Turk, Veronika Stoka
Institution: Jožef Stefan Institute
Language: English
Subfield: Molecular Biology
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W2052842511