Caspases are a group of cysteine dependent aspartate-specific proteases. Originally found as the homolog of Ced-3 in C. elegans, 14 caspases have now been identified in mammals to date. Caspases play important roles in both the intrinsic and extrinsic apoptotic pathways and interact with the non-caspase apoptotic pathways. A number of recent published observations have suggested a strong association between apoptosis, age-related diseases and aging. Findings from our group and others reveal a strong correlation between alterations in caspase activity and aging. In this view point, we summarize current knowledge of the connection between caspases and aging observed in a variety of model systems from cultured cells in vitro to the in vivo models of rodents and humans.

中文翻译：

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胱天蛋白酶，细胞凋亡和衰老。

半胱天冬酶是一组半胱氨酸依赖性天冬氨酸特异性蛋白酶。最初发现是秀丽隐杆线虫中Ced-3的同系物，迄今为止，在哺乳动物中已鉴定出14个半胱天冬酶。胱天蛋白酶在内在和外在凋亡途径中均起重要作用，并与非胱天蛋白酶的凋亡途径相互作用。最近发表的许多观察结果表明细胞凋亡，与年龄有关的疾病和衰老之间有很强的联系。我们小组和其他研究小组的发现表明，胱天蛋白酶活性的变化与衰老之间有很强的相关性。从这一观点出发，我们总结了在从体外培养细胞到啮齿动物和人类体内模型的各种模型系统中观察到的胱天蛋白酶与衰老之间的联系的当前知识。