원문정보
초록
영어
Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress initiates apoptotic processes, mediated by activated caspase-12 in rodent. Caspase-12 is located in ER as a latent zymogen and is activated by pharmacological ER stress inducers such as thapsigargin (inhibitor of ER Ca++-ATPase) and tunicamycin (inhibitor of glycosylation). However, it is not known if caspase-3 is a major downstream caspase of ER stress in dopaminergic neurons. In this study, we used caspase-3(-/-) knockout mutant dopaminergic cells to prove the direct relationship between caspase-3 and caspase-12. Of interest, physiological blockade of caspase-3 activity did not induce the accumulation of caspase-12 in dopaminergic neurons. In addition, compensatory activation of caspase-9 and other caspases had not occurred in caspase-3(-/-) mutant cells during ER stress-induced cell death. Our results suggest that caspase-3 may not be a major downstream
executioner caspase in the cascade of caspase-12-related ER stress process in dopaminergic neurons.