Abstract for CaspACE™ Assay System, Fluorometric

Part# TB248
Printed in USA. Revised 9/09.
Instructions for Use of Product G3540.

The CaspACE™ Assay System, Fluorometric, provides reagents to measure the activity of the caspase, or interleukin-1β-converting enzyme (ICE/CED-3), family of cysteine aspartic acid-specific proteases. These proteases play key roles in inflammation and apoptosis in mammalian cells. The CaspACE™ Assay System provides fluorogenic substrates and inhibitors that allow highly sensitive, quantitative measurement of both ICE (caspase-1) and CPP32 (caspase-3) protease activities. The use of the two selective substrates and inhibitors provided allows discrimination between ICE and CPP32 activities. This assay system can be used with purified enzyme preparations or cell extracts and also can be adapted for use in high-throughput systems.

Activation of caspases occurs as a result of growth factor withdrawal, exposure to radiation or chemotherapeutic agents, or initiation of the Fas/Apo-1 receptor-mediated cell death process. Active caspases participate in a cascade of cleavage events, which disable key homeostatic and repair enzymes and bring about systematic structural disassembly of dying cells. The biological substrates of caspases include poly-(ADP ribose) polymerase (PARP), DNA-dependent protein kinase (DNA-PK), lamins, topoisomerases, Gas2, protein kinase C (PKC)delta, sterol regulatory element binding proteins (SREBP), U1-70kDa protein and Huntingtin protein.