caspase-4; ich-2 protease; Tx protease (CASP4, ICH2)

Function

• role in the activation cascade of caspases responsible for apoptosis execution
• cleaves caspase-1 heterotetramer that consists of two anti-parallel arranged heterodimers, each one formed by a small & a large subunit (putative)
• the two subunits are derived from the precursor sequence by an autocatalytic mechanism or by cleavage by Caspase-8
• strict requirement for Asp at the P1 position
• preferred cleavage sequence of Tyr-Val-Ala-Asp-|- but also cleaves at Asp-Glu-Val-Asp-|-

Structure

• belongs to the peptidase C14 family
• contains 1 CARD domain

Expression

• widely expressed
• spleen & lung > heart & liver > skeletal muscle, kidney & testis
• not found in brain

More general terms

• caspase

Database

• Kegg: http://www.genome.jp/dbget-bin/www_bget?hsa:837
• OMIM: https://mirror.omim.org/entry/602664
• UniProt: http://www.uniprot.org/uniprot/P49662.html
• Entrez gene: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?db=gene&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=Graphics&list_uids=837