Apoptosome: Facts, Discussion Forum, and Encyclopedia Article

Apoptosome

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	Apoptosome
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	Topics Apoptosome Topic Home The apoptosome is a large ternary proteinProtein Proteins are large organic compounds made of amino acids arranged in a linear chain and joined by peptide bonds.... structure formed in the process of apoptosisApoptosis In biology, apoptosis is one of the main types of programmed cell death .... . Its formation is triggered by the release of cytochrome cCytochrome c Cytochrome c, or cyt* c* is a small heme protein found loosely associated with the inner membrane of the mitocho... from the mitochondria in response to an internal (intrinsic) or external (extrinsic) cell death stimulus. Stimuli can vary from DNA damage and viral infection to developmental cues such as the loss of tadpole'sTadpole Overview A tadpole is a larval amphibian, the juvenile form of a frog, toad, newt, salamander, or caecilian.... tail. Once cytochrome cCytochrome c Cytochrome c, or cyt* c* is a small heme protein found loosely associated with the inner membrane of the mitocho... is released, it binds to the cytosolic protein Apaf-1Facts About Apaf-1 Apaf-1 is a cytosolic protein involved in cell death or apoptosis.... in what is believed to be a two-to-one ratio of cytochrome c to apaf-1. It has also been shown that the nucleotide dATPFacts About Adenosine triphosphate Adenosine 5'-triphosphate , discovered in 1929 by Karl Lohmann, is a multifunctional nucleotide primarily known in biochemis... as third component binds to apaf-1, however its exact role is still debated. The formation, the apoptosome, had never been crystallized, but APAF-1/cytochrome-c apoptosome has been imaged at lower (2 nm) resolution by cryogenic scanning electron microscopy, revealing a wheel-like particle with 7-fold symmetry. Using molecular modeling, it was possible to infer likely positions of all the APAF-1 domains (CARD, NBARC and WD40) and cytochrome c. Once formed, the apoptosome can then recruit and activate the inactive pro-caspase-9Caspase Caspases are a group of cysteine proteases, enzymes with a crucial cysteine residue that can cleave other proteins after an ... . Once activated, this caspase can then activate other caspases and trigger a cascade of events leading to apoptosis. Neither the apoptosome nor mitochondria are involved in the extrinsic death receptor pathway.