简介:Apoptosiscanbetriggeredbyavarietyofstimuliincludingdeathfactors,anti-cancerdrugsandfactor-deprivation.Theseapoptoticcellsareswiftlyphagocytosedbymacrophagestopreventthereleaseofnoxiousorinflammatorymaterialsfromdyingcells.ThemolecularanalysisofFasligand(adeathfactor)-inducedapoptosisindicatedthatacascadeofproteases(caspases)isactivatedduringthisprocess,whicheventuallyactivatesaspecificDNase(caspase-activatedDNase).CADexistsasacomplexwithitsinhibitor(ICAD)inproliferatingcells.Whenthecellsaretriggeredtoapoptosis,caspases,inparticularcaspase3,inthedownstreamofthecaspasecascadecleaveICAD,whichreleasesCADtocauseDNAdegradationinnuclei.