Caspase-8 Antibody [SB125a]

Background:

The caspases are a family of cysteine proteases that induce apoptosis in response to a variety of intra- and extracellular stimuli. These enzymes are synthesized as inactive precursors which become cleaved at aspartate-specific sites upon induction of apoptosis. Caspase-8 is a cytosolic protease that is capable of processing/activating all known caspases, indicating its presence early in the apoptotic cascade. It mediates cell death induction by receptors of the tumor necrosis factor (TNF) and nerve growth factor (NGF) family to eliminate injured cells and maintain leukocyte homeostasis. Moreover, studies have suggested it regulates Fas-induced cytotoxicity and may have a non-apoptotic role in macrophage differentiation. The SB125a monoclonal antibody detects a band at ~55kD corresponding to the full length form of caspase-8.