Résumé
Apoptosis is a fundamental process that is required for proper maintenance and survival of multi-cellular organisms. Caspases are cysteinyl-containing active center proteases with specificity for protein cleavage after aspartyl residues. Caspases exist within the cell as inactive zymogens, and their activation is controlled primarily by two distinct mechanisms involving protein-protein interactions within large complexes and proximity-induced processing of the caspases. Since the cell is armed with elaborate mechanisms of self-destruction composed of inactive zymogens that can be rapidly activated by numerous stressors or triggers, these mechanisms must remain under tight control. Apoptosis has been implicated in delayed neuronal death associated with many neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson's disease, stroke, Huntington's disease, traumatic head injury, Alzheimer's disease, motor neuron degeneration, spinal cord injury, and multiple sclerosis. © 2009
| Langue d'origine | English |
|---|---|
| Titre de la publication principale | Pharmacology |
| Maison d'édition | Elsevier Inc. |
| Pages | 455-473 |
| Nombre de pages | 19 |
| ISBN (imprimé) | 9780123695215 |
| DOI | |
| Statut de publication | Published - 2009 |
Note bibliographique
Funding Information:We thank the members of our laboratories for fruitful and critical discussions. The work in author laboratories is supported by grants from Canadian Institutes of Health Research (MH, GSR), Genome Canada (GSR), MS Society of Canada (GSR), Nova Scotia Heart and Stroke Foundation (GSR), Canada Foundation for Innovation, Ontario Innovation Trust, and Ontario Research and Development Challenge Fund (MH).
ASJC Scopus Subject Areas
- Pharmacology