Abstract
Caspases are a family of cysteinyl aspartate-specific proteases that are highly conserved in multicellular organisms and function as central regulators of apoptosis. A member of this family, caspase-3, has been identified as a key mediator of apoptosis in neuronal cells. Recent studies in snail, fly and rat suggest that caspase-3 also functions as a regulatory molecule in neurogenesis and synaptic activity. In this study, in addition to providing an overview of the mechanism of caspase-3 activation, we review genetic and pharmacological studies of apoptotic and nonapoptotic functions of caspase-3 and discuss the regulatory mechanism of caspase-3 for executing nonapoptotic functions in the central nervous system. Knowledge of biochemical pathway(s) for nonapoptotic activation and modulation of caspase-3 has potential implications for the understanding of synaptic failure in the pathophysiology of neurological disorders. Fine-tuning of caspase-3 lays down a new challenge in identifying pharmacological avenues for treatment of many neurological disorders.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 1104-1114 |
Number of pages | 11 |
Journal | Cell Death and Differentiation |
Volume | 17 |
Issue number | 7 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Jul 2010 |
Keywords
- Apoptosis
- Neurodegeneration
- Neurodevelopment
- Neuron differentiation
- Synaptic plasticity
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Cell Biology
- Molecular Biology
- Medicine(all)