Fw: [SOC] Second class drink of water -

[Paul Bartlett]

>From my brother Kim - Professor of clinical biochemistry

P ;-)


----- Original Message -----
From: "Kim Bartlett" <k.bartlett at golduk.net>
To: "Paul Bartlett" <paul at fulking.freeserve.co.uk>
Sent: Friday, August 27, 2004 2:01 PM
Subject: RE: [SOC] Second class drink of water -


> RE: turbo etc
>
> Truth may be stranger than fiction...
>
> See below:
>
> The first step in caspase activation is transition of the latent zymogen
to
> an active form. For the initiator caspases, this occurs through
dimerization
> of monomeric zymogens at an activating complex. Recent studies have
> suggested that FLIPL [FLICE-like inhibitory protein, long form; FLICE is
> FADD (Fas-associated death domain protein)-like interleukin-1b-converting
> enzyme], previously thought to act solely as an inhibitor of caspase-8
> activation, can under certain circumstances function to enhance caspase
> activation. Using an in vitro induced-proximity assay, we demonstrate that
> activation of caspases-8 and -10 occurs independently of cleavage of
either
> the caspase or FLIPL. FLIPL activates caspase-8 by forming heterodimeric
> enzyme molecules with substrate specificity and catalytic activity
> indistinguishable from those of caspase-8 homodimers. Significantly, the
> barrier for heterodimer formation is lower than that for homodimer
> formation, suggesting that FLIPL is a more potent activator of caspase-8
> than is caspase-8 itself.
>
> This is actually a v. v. v. v. important study!!
>
> K
>