Caspases Group III, Active Human

Caspase family consists of more than 10 members. Based on their extended substrate specificities, these enzymes were divided into three major groups: Group I (contains caspase-1,-4,-5), Group II (contains caspase-2,-3,-7), and Group III (contains caspase-6,-8,-9,-10). Evidences have suggested that Group I caspases are involved primarily in the production of inflammatory cytokines, while group II and III enzymes function in apoptosis as effectors and upstream activators, respectively. The Group III recombinant caspases were expressed in E. coli and routinely tested for their ability to enzymatically cleave the substrate VEID-pNA (for caspase-6), IETD-pNA (for caspase-8 & -10) and LEHD-pNA (for caspase-9), respectively.