Cloning and expression of the cDNA encoding rat caspase-2

Gene
N SatoR W Oppenheim

Abstract

We have isolated cDNA clones for rat caspase-2 (also called Nedd2/Ich-1), that encodes a protein similar to interleukin-1beta-converting enzyme (ICE) and the product of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans cell death gene ced-3 both of which play an important role in programmed cell death (PCD). The rat caspase-2 cDNA clones have an open reading frame (ORF) of 452 amino acids (aa). The predicted aa sequence of rat caspase-2 is highly similar to that of mouse Nedd2 (97.3%) and human Ich-1L (91.3%). The aa sequence QACRG containing the active Cys residue, that is necessary for the proteolytic activity of ICE/Ced-3 (caspase) family of proteases, is also conserved in rat caspase-2. Rat caspase-2 also has several Asp residues in the amino and carboxyl cleavage regions similar to other caspase family proteins. We have developed PC12 cells carrying an on/off switching cassette of caspase-2 (named PC-Nd cells), which contains the neo gene flanked by a pair of loxP sites, the Cre-specific recognition sequence of 34 nucleotides (nt), that lies between the promoter and the caspase-2 cDNA. This expression cassette was designed to express the neo gene initially and to turn on the expression of caspase-2 by site-specific recombinase Cre-media...Continue Reading

References

Jun 30, 1992·Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications·S KumarM Noda
Feb 6, 1996·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·S MiyakeI Saito
Oct 18, 1996·Cell·E S AlnemriJ Yuan
Oct 1, 1996·The Journal of Cell Biology·B AlletL Bernasconi

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Citations

Jun 18, 2002·Journal of Neurochemistry·Kunlin JinSteven H Graham
Sep 29, 2001·Archives of Histology and Cytology·Y Uchiyama
Dec 9, 2000·Clinical Immunology : the Official Journal of the Clinical Immunology Society·K M KimC Y Kang
Mar 26, 2003·Cell Death and Differentiation·C M Troy, M L Shelanski
Sep 11, 2001·Cell Death and Differentiation·E FujitaT Momoi

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