The C. elegans cell death gene ced-3 encodes a protein similar to mammalian interleukin-1 beta-converting enzyme - PubMed (original) (raw)

Comparative Study

. 1993 Nov 19;75(4):641-52.

doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(93)90485-9.

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Comparative Study

The C. elegans cell death gene ced-3 encodes a protein similar to mammalian interleukin-1 beta-converting enzyme

J Yuan et al. Cell. 1993.

Abstract

We have cloned the C. elegans cell death gene ced-3. A ced-3 transcript is most abundant during embryogenesis, the stage during which most programmed cell deaths occur. The predicted CED-3 protein shows similarity to human and murine interleukin-1 beta-converting enzyme and to the product of the mouse nedd-2 gene, which is expressed in the embryonic brain. The sequences of 12 ced-3 mutations as well as the sequences of ced-3 genes from two related nematode species identify sites of potential functional importance. We propose that the CED-3 protein acts as a cysteine protease in the initiation of programmed cell death in C. elegans and that cysteine proteases also function in programmed cell death in mammals.

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