| Apoptosis or programmed cell death is essential for normal tissue development and abnormal growth such as cancer, neurodegeneration, autoimmune diseases, and angiogenesis, etc. Apoptosis is driven by caspases (cysteine proteases that cleave after an aspartic acid residue). After the initial discovery of the first mammalian caspase 1 or ICE (interleukin 1 beta converting enzyme), a growing family of caspases 1-14 have been cloned and characterized. Caspases are synthesized as inactive zymogen or proenzyme forms (30-55kD), which upon apoptotic stimulation are proteolytically processed (self or by other proteins) in a sequential manner into their active heterotetrameric forms. The processed form consists of large subunit (17-20kD) and a small (10-12kD) subunits, which may associate to form an active enzyme. Functionally active caspases initiate a proteolytic cascade, capable of cleaving and activating numerous cellular targets including PARP, G4-GDI, DFF, MEKK, etc. On a functional basis, two categories of caspases have been defined: the initiator caspases (caspases-8, -9, and -10) are activated in the earlier phases of apoptosis, whereas the executioner caspases (caspases-3, -6, and -7) are activated by initiator caspases and are responsible for dismantling cellular components. Caspase-11, (also known as CASP-11, ICH-3, ICE-B) promotes IL-b processing by procaspase-1 (ICE) and therefore may also have a role in inflammatory response as evident by a 30 fold increase in CASP-11 activity by LPS. The mouse and rat CASP-11 (373aa) are most homologous to human CASP-4 (377aa) protein (ICErel-II, TX, ICH-2) and could possibly be the ortholog of human CASP-4. The pro-or zymogen form of CASP-11 is activated by Granzyme-B or cathepsin-B and the processed enzyme consists of two large p20 (20 k Da) and two small ~p10 (10kDa) subunits. CASP-11 is highly expressed in lung and spleen, weaker in heart and very little in liver, kidney, testis and skeletal muscle but has not been detected in the brain. Source: 13aa peptide (286-298aa) of Mouse Caspase-11 ~C-terminal Applications: Suitable for use in ELISA. Because of its low mol. Wt (<3 kD), is not suitable for Western.Other applications not tested. Recommended Dilution: ELISA: Control peptide can be used to coat ELISA plates at 1ug/ml and detected with antibodies (0.5-1ug/ml for affinity pure). Optimal dilution determined by the researcher. Storage and Stability: May be stored at 4C for short-term only. For long-term storage, store at -20C. Aliquots are stable for at least 6 months at -20C. For maximum recovery of product, centrifuge the original vial after thawing and prior to removing the cap. Further dilutions can be made in assay buffer. |
