Caspase 的活化机制

Caspase是一类与凋亡密切相关的蛋白水解酶家族，以Caspase前体酶原的形式存在大多后生动物的细胞中。Caspase在凋亡信号的作用下首先激活启动型Caspase引发Caspase级联反应，然后通过活化的执行型Caspase裂解特异性底物导致细胞凋亡。Caspase的活化是导致细胞凋亡的中心环节，位于Caspase级联反应上游的启动型Caspase的和下游的执行型Caspase有着明显不同的活化机制。

Mechanisms of Caspase Activation

Caspase belongs to proteolytic enzymes family closely related to cell apoptosis, which exists in most metazoan cells as its preemzyme and plays an important role in apoptosis. Under the influence of apoptpsis signals,caspase first activates initiator caspase, resulting in cascade reaction of caspase, and then splits specific substrates by executioner caspase activated to induce cell apoptosis. So the activation of caspase was the central component for inducing apoptosis, and there are different activating mechanisms between initiator caspase and executioner caspase.