Structural highlights
Disease
[CASP8_HUMAN] Defects in CASP8 are the cause of caspase-8 deficiency (CASP8D) [MIM:607271]. CASP8D is a disorder resembling autoimmune lymphoproliferative syndrome (ALPS). It is characterized by lymphadenopathy, splenomegaly, and defective CD95-induced apoptosis of peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBLs). It leads to defects in activation of T-lymphocytes, B-lymphocytes, and natural killer cells leading to immunodeficiency characterized by recurrent sinopulmonary and herpes simplex virus infections and poor responses to immunization.[1]
Function
[CASP8_HUMAN] Most upstream protease of the activation cascade of caspases responsible for the TNFRSF6/FAS mediated and TNFRSF1A induced cell death. Binding to the adapter molecule FADD recruits it to either receptor. The resulting aggregate called death-inducing signaling complex (DISC) performs CASP8 proteolytic activation. The active dimeric enzyme is then liberated from the DISC and free to activate downstream apoptotic proteases. Proteolytic fragments of the N-terminal propeptide (termed CAP3, CAP5 and CAP6) are likely retained in the DISC. Cleaves and activates CASP3, CASP4, CASP6, CASP7, CASP9 and CASP10. May participate in the GZMB apoptotic pathways. Cleaves ADPRT. Hydrolyzes the small-molecule substrate, Ac-Asp-Glu-Val-Asp-|-AMC. Likely target for the cowpox virus CRMA death inhibitory protein. Isoform 5, isoform 6, isoform 7 and isoform 8 lack the catalytic site and may interfere with the pro-apoptotic activity of the complex.[2] [3]
Evolutionary Conservation
Check, as determined by ConSurfDB. You may read the explanation of the method and the full data available from ConSurf.
Publication Abstract from PubMed
BACKGROUND: In the initial stages of Fas-mediated apoptosis the cysteine protease caspase-8 is recruited to the cell receptor as a zymogen (procaspase-8) and is incorporated into the death-signalling complex. Procaspase-8 is subsequently activated leading to a cascade of proteolytic events, one of them being the activation of caspase-3, and ultimately resulting in cell destruction. Variations in the substrate specificity of different caspases have been reported. RESULTS: We report here the crystal structure of a complex of the activated human caspase-8 (proteolytic domain) with the irreversible peptidic inhibitor Z-Glu-Val-Asp-dichloromethylketone at 2.8 A resolution. This is the first structure of a representative of the long prodomain initiator caspases and of the group III substrate specificity class. The overall protein architecture resembles the caspase-1 and caspase-3 folds, but shows distinct structural differences in regions forming the active site. In particular, differences observed in subsites S(3), S(4) and the loops involved in inhibitor interactions explain the preference of caspase-8 for substrates with the sequence (Leu/Val)-Glu-X-Asp. CONCLUSIONS: The structural differences could be correlated with the observed substrate specificities of caspase-1, caspase-3 and caspase-8, as determined from kinetic experiments. This information will help us to understand the role of the various caspases in the propagation of the apoptotic signal. The information gained from this investigation should be useful for the design of specific inhibitors.
The three-dimensional structure of caspase-8: an initiator enzyme in apoptosis.,Blanchard H, Kodandapani L, Mittl PR, Marco SD, Krebs JF, Wu JC, Tomaselli KJ, Grutter MG Structure. 1999 Sep 15;7(9):1125-33. PMID:10508784[4]
From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.
See Also
References
- ↑ Chun HJ, Zheng L, Ahmad M, Wang J, Speirs CK, Siegel RM, Dale JK, Puck J, Davis J, Hall CG, Skoda-Smith S, Atkinson TP, Straus SE, Lenardo MJ. Pleiotropic defects in lymphocyte activation caused by caspase-8 mutations lead to human immunodeficiency. Nature. 2002 Sep 26;419(6905):395-9. PMID:12353035 doi:10.1038/nature01063
- ↑ Himeji D, Horiuchi T, Tsukamoto H, Hayashi K, Watanabe T, Harada M. Characterization of caspase-8L: a novel isoform of caspase-8 that behaves as an inhibitor of the caspase cascade. Blood. 2002 Jun 1;99(11):4070-8. PMID:12010809
- ↑ Muzio M, Salvesen GS, Dixit VM. FLICE induced apoptosis in a cell-free system. Cleavage of caspase zymogens. J Biol Chem. 1997 Jan 31;272(5):2952-6. PMID:9006941
- ↑ Blanchard H, Kodandapani L, Mittl PR, Marco SD, Krebs JF, Wu JC, Tomaselli KJ, Grutter MG. The three-dimensional structure of caspase-8: an initiator enzyme in apoptosis. Structure. 1999 Sep 15;7(9):1125-33. PMID:10508784
