Abstract
Programmed cell death, or apoptosis, is a physiological cell suicide mechanism, which is triggered in the cells by different stimuli. It has been shown that proteases play a significant role both in the target cell killing by cytotoxic lymphocytes and in the TNF- or anti-Fas-induced cell death. The proteases involved in the early (induction) and late (cell self-destruction) stages of apoptosis are reviewed. It is suggested that the late stages are connected with the activation of a cascade of intracellular proteases, which leads to massive protein destruction. It is likely that the protein destruction is mainly designed for preventing autoimmune response to proteins released from dying cells.
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Edited by C.J. Thiele
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Sukharev, S., Pleshakova, O. & Sadovnikov, V. Role of proteases in activation of apoptosis. Cell Death Differ 4, 457–462 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.cdd.4400263
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.cdd.4400263