Caspase Activity
Caspases play important roles in apoptosis and cell signaling
Apoptosis is a programmed, cell-autonomous death process. It plays important roles in a variety of physiological and pathological events1 , ranging from normal fetal development to diseases, such as cancer2 , organ failure and neurodegenerative diseases. During apoptosis, caspases execute the disassembly of the cellular components by proteolytic cleavage of a variety of substrates, such as poly-(ADP ribose) polymerase (PARP)3 , DNA-dependent protein kinase (DNA-PK), topoisomerases, and protein kinase C (PKC)δ. 4 At least ten caspases have been discovered. Some of caspases identify and cleave a specific peptide substrate, while others recognize the same peptide substrate4 .
References
1. Thornberry, N. A. et al. Science 281, 1312-1316 (1998).
2. Reed, J. C. J. Clin. Oncol. 17, 2941-2953 (1999).
3. Lazebnik, Y. A. et al. Nature 371, 346-347 (1994).
4. Villa, P. et al. Trends Biochem. Sci. 22, 388-393 (1997).
Assay Kits for caspase activity monitoring and inhibitors screening
Our Sensolyte® Caspase assay kits use fluorogenic substrates, where the sequence specific for one or several caspases is conjugated to AFC, AMC or Rh110. Upon protease cleavage, the fluorescence is released proportionally to the caspase activity.
| Dye (donor) | Donor Ex/Em | |
| SensoLyte® AMC | AMC |
•
351/430 nm |
|---|---|---|
| SensoLyte® AFC | AFC |
•
382/480 nm |
| SensoLyte® Rh110 | Rh110 |
•
501/527 nm |
The profiling kits contain two 96-well plates (8x12 strips) coated with eight well-known substrates for various caspases, while the Substrate sample kits contain the same peptides, but in bulk.
Two series of 8 peptides are available
| 8 peptides conjugated with AFC | 8 peptides conjugated with AMC |
|
References : AS-71116; AS-71117 SB1 Caspase-1 substrate Ac-YVAD-AFC |
References : AS-71120; AS-71121 SB1 Caspase-1 substrate Ac-YEVD-AMC |