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Hoffmann, R. A wiki for the life sciences where authorship matters. Nature Genetics (2008)
 
 
 
 
 

Zinc is a potent inhibitor of the apoptotic protease, caspase-3. A novel target for zinc in the inhibition of apoptosis.

The prevention of apoptosis by Zn2+ has generally been attributed to its inhibition of an endonuclease acting in the late phase of apoptosis. In this study we investigated the effect of Zn2+ on an earlier event in the apoptotic process, the proteolysis of the "death substrate" poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP). Pretreatment of intact Molt4 leukemia cells with micromolar concentrations of Zn2+ caused an inhibition of PARP proteolysis induced by the chemotherapeutic agent etoposide. Using a cell-free system consisting of purified bovine PARP as a substrate and an apoptotic extract or recombinant caspase-3 as the PARP protease, Zn2+ inhibited PARP proteolysis in the low micromolar range. To rule out an effect of Zn2+ on PARP, a protein with two zinc finger domains, we used recombinant caspase-3 and a chromogenic tetrapeptide substrate containing the caspase-3 cleavage site. In this system, Zn2+ inhibited caspase-3 with an IC50 of 0.1 microM. These results identify caspase-3 as a novel target of Zn2+ inhibition in apoptosis and suggest a regulatory role for Zn2+ in modulating the upstream apoptotic machinery.[1]

References

  1. Zinc is a potent inhibitor of the apoptotic protease, caspase-3. A novel target for zinc in the inhibition of apoptosis. Perry, D.K., Smyth, M.J., Stennicke, H.R., Salvesen, G.S., Duriez, P., Poirier, G.G., Hannun, Y.A. J. Biol. Chem. (1997) [Pubmed]
 
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