Caspase-1

Caspases are an evolutionary conserved family of cysteine-dependent proteases that are involved in many vital cellular processes including apoptosis, proliferation, differentiation and inflammatory response. Dysregulation of caspase-mediated apoptosis and inflammation has been linked to the pathogenesis of various diseases such as inflammatory diseases, neurological disorders, metabolic diseases, and cancer.The members of the caspase family are grouped based on their functional contribution in inflammation (caspases-1, -4, -5, and -11) and involvement in cell death (initiation: caspases-2, -8, -9, and -10; execution: caspases-3, -6, and -7) or by their consensus recognition sequences. Inflammatory caspases recognize the sequence Trp-Glu-His-Asp and are classified as group I. Whilst group II and group III recognize Asp-Glu-X-Asp and (Leu/Val)-Glu-X-Asp, respectively.