The death effector domain protein family: regulators of cellular homeostasis

Nat Immunol. 2003 May;4(5):404-9. doi: 10.1038/ni0503-404.

Abstract

The death effector domain (DED) occurs in proteins that regulate programmed cell death. Both pro- and anti-apoptotic proteins containing DEDs have been identified. For Fas and possibly other death receptors, homotypic DED interactions connect the Fas-associated death domain (FADD) protein to caspase-8 and caspase-10 to mediate formation of the death-inducing signal complex. This complex can be inhibited by other DED-containing proteins. Accumulating evidence now suggests that DED-containing proteins have additional roles in controlling pathways of cellular activation and proliferation. Thus, the DED defines a family of proteins that may be pivotal to cellular homeostasis by establishing a 'cell renewal set point' that coregulates proliferation and apoptosis in parallel.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing*
  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Animals
  • Apoptosis / physiology*
  • Carrier Proteins / metabolism
  • Caspase 8
  • Caspase 9
  • Caspases / metabolism
  • Cell Division / physiology
  • DNA-Binding Proteins*
  • Death Domain Receptor Signaling Adaptor Proteins
  • Fas-Associated Death Domain Protein
  • Homeostasis
  • Humans
  • Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins
  • Models, Biological
  • Models, Molecular
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Protein Structure, Tertiary
  • Proteins / chemistry*
  • Proteins / genetics
  • Proteins / physiology*
  • Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
  • Signal Transduction

Substances

  • Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing
  • Carrier Proteins
  • DEDD protein, human
  • DNA-Binding Proteins
  • Death Domain Receptor Signaling Adaptor Proteins
  • FADD protein, human
  • Fas-Associated Death Domain Protein
  • Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins
  • Proteins
  • CASP8 protein, human
  • CASP9 protein, human
  • Caspase 8
  • Caspase 9
  • Caspases