Abstract
Apoptotic cell death is driven by ICE family proteases (caspases) and negatively regulated by Bcl-2 family proteins. Although it has been shown that Bcl-2 exerts anti-apoptotic activity by blocking a step(s) leading to the activation of caspases, a role for Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL downstream of the caspase cascade has remained unclear. Here, we show that purified active caspase-3 (CPP32/Yama/apopain) and caspase-1 (ICE) induces apoptosis when microinjected into the cytoplasm of cells, confirming our recent observations, and that the apoptosis is not at all prevented by Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL, which are overexpressed more than sufficiently to prevent Fas-mediated and overexpressed procaspase-1-mediated apoptosis. Thus, Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL do not act downstream of the caspase cascade.
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Yasuhara, N., Sahara, S., Kamada, S. et al. Evidence against a functional site for Bcl-2 downstream of caspase cascade in preventing apoptosis. Oncogene 15, 1921–1928 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.onc.1201370
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.onc.1201370