• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.87-92
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• 2006

Fas-associated death domain protein (FADD) recruits and activates procaspase-8 through interactions between the death effector domains of these two proteins. Cellular FLICE-inhibitory protein (c-FLIP) was identified as a molecule with sequence homology to caspase-8. It has been postulated that c-FLIP prevents formation of the competent death-inducing signaling complex in a ligand-dependent manner, through its interaction with FADD and/or caspase-8. However, the interaction of FADD and $c-FLIP_s$ (short form) in apoptosis signaling has been controversially discussed. We show the purification and the characterization of human full-length FADD and $c-FLIP_s$ expressed in Escherichia coli. The purified FADD and $c-FLIP_s$ are shown as homogeneity, respectively, in SDS-PAGE analysis and light-scattering measurements. The folding properties of the $\alpha$-helical structure of FADD and the super-secondary structure of $c-FLIP_s$ proteins were characterized by circular dichroism spectroscopy. Furthermore, we report here a series of biochemical and biophysical data for FADD-$c-FLIP_s$ binding in vitro. The binding of both FADD and $c-FLIP_s$ proteins was detected by BIAcore biosensor, fluorescence measurement, and size-exclusion column (SEC).

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.165-170
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• 2008

Procaspase-8 is activated by forming a death-inducing signaling complex (DISC) with the Fas-associated death domain (FADD) and the Fas receptor, but the mechanism of its activation is not well understood. Procaspase-8 devoid of the death effector domain at its N-terminus (${\Delta}nprocaspase-8$) was reported to be activated by kosmotropic salts, but it has not been induced to form a DISC in vitro because it cannot interact with FADD. Here, we report the production of full-length procaspase-8 and show that it is activated by adding the Fas death domain (Fas-DD) and the FADD forming the cytoplasmic part of the DISC (cDISC). Furthermore, mutations known to affect DISC formation in vivo were shown to have the same effect on procaspase-8 activation in vitro. An antibody that induces Fas-DD association enhanced procaspase-8 activation, suggesting that the Fas ligand is not required for low-level activation of procaspase-8, but that Fas receptor clustering is needed for high-level activation of procaspase-8 leading to cell death. In vitro activation of procaspase-8 by forming a cDISC will be invaluable for investigating activation of ligand-mediated apoptosis and the numerous interactions affecting procaspase-8 activation.