Caspase 3 Monoclonal Antibody (MAR-1), eBioscience™, Invitrogen™

Description

• Description: Caspases are present in all cells, recruitment of these proteases to oligomerized receptors leads to activation accompanied by autoproteolytic cleavage
• Active caspases can proteolyze additional caspases generating a caspase cascade that cleaves proteins critical for cell survival
• The final outcome of this signaling pathway is a form of controlled cell death termed apoptosis
• The subgroup of caspases involved in apoptosis is called initiators or effectors
• Caspase-3 cleaves substrate at the carboxyl terminus of aspartate residues
• Active caspase-3 has two active sites and consists of two identical large (∽ 20 kDa) and two identical small (∽ 10 kDa) subunits that are derived from two precursor caspase-3 polypeptides
• Caspase-3 is proteolytically activated by other caspases
• Both subunits contribute to substrate binding and catalysis
• The active site cysteine that covalently binds the substrate is located near the C-terminus of the large subunit
• Active caspase-3 has two-fold symmetry, two active site pockets each residing on an opposite side
• Caspase-3, together with caspases 8 and 9, is situated at pivotal junctions in apoptotic pathways
• Caspase-3 appears to amplify caspase 8 and 9 initiation signals into complete commitment to apoptotic disassembly
• Applications Tested: ELISA, Western Blotting
• This gene encodes a protein which is a member of the cysteine-aspartic acid protease (caspase) family
• Sequential activation of caspases plays a central role in the execution-phase of cell apoptosis
• Caspases exist as inactive proenzymes which undergo proteolytic processing at conserved aspartic residues to produce two subunits, large and small, that dimerize to form the active enzyme
• This protein cleaves and activates caspases 6, 7 and 9, and the protein itself is processed by caspases 8, 9 and 10
• It is the predominant caspase involved in the cleavage of amyloid-beta 4A precursor protein, which is associated with neuronal death in Alzheimer's disease
• Alternative splicing of this gene results in two transcript variants that encode the same protein.