Caspase 4 is an

enzyme An enzyme () is a protein that acts as a biological catalyst by accelerating chemical reactions. The molecules upon which enzymes may act are called substrate (chemistry), substrates, and the enzyme converts the substrates into different mol ...

that proteolytically cleaves other proteins at an

aspartic acid Aspartic acid (symbol Asp or D; the ionic form is known as aspartate), is an α-amino acid that is used in the biosynthesis of proteins. The L-isomer of aspartic acid is one of the 22 proteinogenic amino acids, i.e., the building blocks of protei ...

residue (LEVD-), and belongs to a family of

cysteine protease Cysteine proteases, also known as thiol proteases, are hydrolase enzymes that degrade proteins. These proteases share a common catalytic mechanism that involves a nucleophilic cysteine thiol in a catalytic triad or dyad. Discovered by Gopal Chu ...

s called

caspase Caspases (cysteine-aspartic proteases, cysteine aspartases or cysteine-dependent aspartate-directed proteases) are a family of protease enzymes playing essential roles in programmed cell death. They are named caspases due to their specific cyste ...

s. The function of caspase 4 is not fully known, but it is believed to be an inflammatory caspase, along with

caspase 1 Caspase-1/Interleukin-1 converting enzyme (ICE) is an evolutionarily conserved enzyme that proteolysis, proteolytically cleaves other proteins, such as the Protein precursor, precursors of the inflammatory cytokines Interleukin 1 beta, interleuki ...

caspase 5 Caspase 5 is an enzyme that proteolysis, proteolytically cleaves other proteins at an aspartic acid residue, and belongs to a family of cysteine proteases called caspases. It is an inflammatory caspase, along with caspase 1, caspase 4 and the mu ...

(and the

murine The Old World rats and mice, part of the subfamily Murinae in the family Muridae, comprise at least 519 species. Members of this subfamily are called murines. In terms of species richness, this subfamily is larger than all mammal families excep ...

homolog In biology, homology is similarity in anatomical structures or genes between organisms of different taxa due to shared ancestry, ''regardless'' of current functional differences. Evolutionary biology explains homologous structures as retained her ...

caspase 11 Murine caspase-11, and its human homologs caspase-4 and caspase-5, are mammalian intracellular receptor proteases activated by TLR4 and TLR3 signaling during the innate immune response. Caspase-11, also termed the non-canonical inflammasome, ...

), with a role in the

immune system The immune system is a network of biological systems that protects an organism from diseases. It detects and responds to a wide variety of pathogens, from viruses to bacteria, as well as Tumor immunology, cancer cells, Parasitic worm, parasitic ...

. The

anti-inflammatory Anti-inflammatory is the property of a substance or treatment that reduces inflammation, fever or swelling. Anti-inflammatory drugs, also called anti-inflammatories, make up about half of analgesics. These drugs reduce pain by inhibiting mechan ...

drug

indoprofen Indoprofen is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID). It was withdrawn worldwide in the 1980s after postmarketing reports of severe gastrointestinal bleeding. A 2004 study using high-throughput screening found indoprofen to increase produ ...

is an inhibitor of the activity of the caspase-4 enzyme.

References

External links

* The

MEROPS MEROPS is an online database for peptidases (also known as proteases, proteinases and proteolytic enzymes) and their inhibitors. The classification scheme for peptidases was published by Rawlings & Barrett in 1993, and that for protein inhibito ...

online database for peptidases and their inhibitors
C14.007
EC 3.4.22 Caspases {{gene-11-stub

See also

References

External links