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. 1997 Nov 14;91(4):479-89.
doi: 10.1016/s0092-8674(00)80434-1.

Cytochrome c and dATP-dependent formation of Apaf-1/caspase-9 complex initiates an apoptotic protease cascade

P Li  1 , D Nijhawan, I Budihardjo, S M Srinivasula, M Ahmad, E S Alnemri, X Wang
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Free article

Cytochrome c and dATP-dependent formation of Apaf-1/caspase-9 complex initiates an apoptotic protease cascade

P Li et al. Cell. .
Free article

Abstract

We report here the purification of the third protein factor, Apaf-3, that participates in caspase-3 activation in vitro. Apaf-3 was identified as a member of the caspase family, caspase-9. Caspase-9 and Apaf-1 bind to each other via their respective NH2-terminal CED-3 homologous domains in the presence of cytochrome c and dATP, an event that leads to caspase-9 activation. Activated caspase-9 in turn cleaves and activates caspase-3. Depletion of caspase-9 from S-100 extracts diminished caspase-3 activation. Mutation of the active site of caspase-9 attenuated the activation of caspase-3 and cellular apoptotic response in vivo, indicating that caspase-9 is the most upstream member of the apoptotic protease cascade that is triggered by cytochrome c and dATP.

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  • Mitochondrial activation of apoptosis.
    Li P, Nijhawan D, Wang X. Li P, et al. Cell. 2004 Jan 23;116(2 Suppl):S57-9, 2 p following S59. doi: 10.1016/s0092-8674(04)00031-5. Cell. 2004. PMID: 15055583 No abstract available.

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