ジャーナル: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A / 年: 2024 タイトル: Dark and Dronc activation in . 著者: Lu Tian / Yini Li / Yigong Shi / 要旨: The onset of apoptosis is characterized by a cascade of caspase activation, where initiator caspases are activated by a multimeric adaptor complex known as the apoptosome. In , the initiator caspase ...The onset of apoptosis is characterized by a cascade of caspase activation, where initiator caspases are activated by a multimeric adaptor complex known as the apoptosome. In , the initiator caspase Dronc undergoes autocatalytic activation in the presence of the Dark apoptosome. Despite rigorous investigations, the activation mechanism for Dronc remains elusive. Here, we report the cryo-EM structures of an auto-inhibited Dark monomer and a single-layered, multimeric Dark/Dronc complex. Our biochemical analysis suggests that the auto-inhibited Dark oligomerizes upon binding to Dronc, which is sufficient for the activation of both Dark and Dronc. In contrast, the previously observed double-ring Dark apoptosome may represent a non-functional or "off-pathway" conformation. These findings expand our understanding on the molecular mechanism of apoptosis in .