Caspases & Death Receptors Flashcards
What are caspases and what is their primary function in cells?
How many distinct mammalian caspases are there, and how many in humans specifically?
What are the two main functional subgroups of caspases?
What distinguishes initiator caspases from effector caspases structurally?
What is the mechanism of activation for initiator caspases?
Name the four main activation platforms for initiator caspases.
What is the DISC and which caspases does it activate?
Describe the structure of the apoptosome and its role in caspase activation.
What is the role of Cytochrome C in apoptosome formation?
How do caspases contribute to the physical manifestations of apoptosis?
Name three types of cellular substrates cleaved by caspases during apoptosis.
What is ICAD and how does its cleavage contribute to apoptosis?
Describe the structure of pro-caspases.
What are death receptors and to which protein family do they belong?
Name two well-characterized death receptors.
What is the death domain (DD) and why is it important?
How are death receptors typically activated?
Describe the formation of the Fas DISC.
What is the role of FADD in death receptor signaling?
What are the three main physiological functions of the Fas/FasL system in the immune system?
Describe the phenotype of lpr and gld mutant mice.
What human disease is associated with defects in Fas genes?
How do cytotoxic T lymphocytes use the Fas/FasL system?
What are the core components of the mammalian cell death pathway?
Name the C. elegans genes and their mammalian homologues involved in apoptosis.
What determines cell fate in terms of survival or death?
Describe the two main apoptotic pathways in mammalian cells.
What is the role of Bid in connecting the extrinsic and intrinsic apoptotic pathways?
How can caspase activity be detected in dying cells?
Name two types of caspase inhibitors.
What is the inflammasome and how does it relate to caspase-1?
Describe the role of caspase-1 in inflammation.
What are PAMPs and DAMPs, and how do they relate to inflammasome activation?
Name two types of receptors involved in recognizing PAMPs and DAMPs.
What is the difference between reversible and irreversible caspase inhibitors?
How does overexpression of caspases affect cells?
What is the role of caspases in neurodegenerative diseases?
Name three caspase substrates involved in cell cycle regulation.
How do caspases affect the cytoskeleton during apoptosis?
What is the role of caspases in DNA fragmentation during apoptosis?
Describe the activation mechanism of effector caspases.
What is the significance of the CARD and DED domains in caspases?
How does dimerization contribute to initiator caspase activation?
What is the PIDDosome and which caspase does it activate?
Describe the role of adaptor molecules in caspase activation.
What is the difference between intrinsic and extrinsic apoptotic pathways?
How do viral inhibitors like CRM and p35 affect caspase activity?
What is the role of Bcl-2 family proteins in the apoptotic pathway?
Describe the process of proximity-induced dimerization in caspase activation.
How do inflammasomes contribute to the innate immune response?
