The execution phase of apoptosis which mediates the final phase of apoptosis is associated with which of the following caspase?
The two initiating pathways converge to a cascade of caspase activation, which mediates the final phase of apoptosis. The mitochondrial pathway leads to activation of the initiator caspase-9, and the death receptor pathway to the initiator caspases-8 and 10. After an initiator caspase is cleaved to generate its active form, the enzymatic death program is set in motion by rapid and sequential activation of the executioner caspases. Executioner caspases, such as caspase-3 and 6, act on many cellular components. Cleave an inhibitor of a cytoplasmic DNase and thus make the DNase enzymatically active; this enzyme induces cleavage of DNA. Caspases also degrade structural components of the nuclear matrix and thus promote fragmentation of nuclei.
Caspase 9
Caspase 8
Caspase 3
Caspase 1
Apoptosis