Antibodies to Caspase Family - FocusOn 051

Introduction

Apoptosis or programmed cell death is triggered by a variety of stimuli, including cell surface receptors like FAS, the mitochondrial response to stress, and factors released from cytotoxic T cells.

The caspases comprise a class of cysteine proteases many members of which are involved in apoptosis.

Caspases exist within the cell as inactive pro-forms or zymogens. These zymogens can be cleaved to form active enzymes following the induction of apoptosis. The subgroup of caspases involved in apoptosis has been referred to as either initiators or effectors. Caspase-8, Caspase-9, and Caspase-10 (and maybe also Caspase-2 and Caspase-5) can initiate the caspase activation cascade and are therefore called initiators. Based on the prototypes, Caspases-8 and -9, initiators can be activated either by dimerization alone (Caspase-9) or by dimerization with concomitant autoproteolysis (Caspase-8). The effectors Caspase-3, Caspase-6, and Caspase-7 propagate the cascade and are activated by proteolytic cleavage by other caspases. Although an initiator caspase may not be responsible for starting the caspase cascade, it can become activated and involved in later steps of the cascade. Thus, in the latter scenario, the caspase would be more appropriately termed an effector. A second subgroup of caspases is involved in processing a select group of cytokines. Caspase-1, the first caspase to be purified, was identified by its ability to cleave the precursor of IL-1b to its mature form. Caspase-11 deficient mice are resistant to endotoxic shock and fail to process IL-1b and IL-1a. Caspase-11 is required for activation of Caspase-1 and subsequently, Caspase-11 deficient mice fail to activate Caspase-1. Caspase-4, -5, -12, -13, and -14 are generally expected to be involved in cytokine processing. These caspases have an amino acid sequence homology closer to Caspase-1 than to the caspases involved in apoptosis.

Antibody Tools for the Detection of Caspases

Acris Antibodies offers a panel of antibodies to 14 members of the caspase family suitable for immunological detection methods like immunohistochemistry, Western blotting or immunoprecipitation.

Please note: A wide range of corresponding Caspase control peptides is also available.

Fig.1: Formalin-fixed, paraffin embedded human placenta stained with Caspase-1 antibody DP064

Fig.2: Formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded human tonsil stained with Caspase-7 antibody AM00321PU-N

Fig.3: Western blot analysis for Caspase-14 using antibody SM7010P

Available Antibody Panel to Caspase-1 through Caspase-14

Anti- Caspase 1 (CASP1, ICE, p45, IL1BC); Caspase 2 (CASP2, ICH-1, NEDD2); Caspase 3 (CASP3, Apopain, CPP32, SCA-1); Caspase 4 (CASP4, ICH-2, ICE(rel)II, TX protease); Caspase 5 (CASP5, ICH-3, ICE(rel)III); Caspase 6 (CASP6, MCH2); Caspase 7 (CASP7, ICE-LAP3, CMH-1, MCH3); Caspase 8 (CASP8, FLICE, MACH, MCH5); Caspase 9 (CASP9, APAF-3, ICE-LAP6, MCH6); Caspase 10 (CASP10, FLICE2, MCH4, ALPS2); Caspase 11 (Casp11, Caspl); Caspase 12 (CASP12); Caspase 13 (CASP13, ERICE); Caspase 14 (CASP14, MICE)