Identification and characterisation of caspase inhibitors.

半胱氨酸天冬氨酸酶抑制剂的鉴定和表征。生物体使用一个严格控制的细胞死亡过程(称为细胞凋亡)来清除危险和不需要的细胞。这一过程的失调可能会导致癌症和自身免疫性疾病等疾病。半胱氨酸天冬氨酸氨基转移酶是细胞凋亡的蛋白酶效应因子。调节它们的活性对于有效控制细胞的生存和死亡至关重要。利用第一CI发明的功能筛选系统，我们的目标是分离和鉴定新的caspase抑制剂。这些抑制物有时可能被用作开发治疗或诊断试剂的靶点，目的是操纵细胞凋亡过程，以诊断、预防或治疗疾病。

Identification and characterisation of caspase inhibitors. Organisms use a tightly controlled process of cell death (termed apoptosis) to remove dangerous and unwanted cells. Dysregulation of this process can contribute to diseases such as cancer and autoimmune disease. Caspases are protease effectors of apoptosis. Regulation of their activity is vital for effective control of cell survival and death. Using a functional screening system invented by the 1st CI, we aim to isolate and characterise novel inhibitors of caspases. Such inhibitors may in time be used as targets for development of therapeutic or diagnostic reagents aimed at manipulating the apoptotic process to diagnose, prevent or treat disease.