Caspases play central roles in mediating both cell death and inflammation. It has more recently become evident that caspases also drive other biological processes. Most prominently, caspases have been shown to be involved in differentiation. Several stem and progenitor cell types rely on caspases to initiate and execute their differentiation processes. These range from neural and glial cells, to skeletal myoblasts and osteoblasts, and several cell types of the hematopoietic system. Beyond differentiation, caspases have also been shown to play roles in other “noncanonical” processes, including cell proliferation, arrest, and senescence, thereby contributing to the mechanisms that regulate tissue homeostasis at multiple levels. Remarkably, caspases directly influence the course of the cell cycle in both a positive and negative manner. Caspases both cleave elements of the cell-cycle machinery and are themselves substrates of cell-cycle kinases. Here we aim to summarize the breadth of interactions between caspases and cell-cycle regulators. We also highlight recent developments in this area.

中文翻译：

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与半胱天冬酶及其底物的细胞周期串扰。

半胱天冬酶在介导细胞死亡和炎症中起核心作用。最近很明显，半胱天冬酶也驱动其他生物过程。最突出的是，已显示半胱天冬酶参与分化。几种干细胞和祖细胞类型依赖于半胱天冬酶来启动和执行它们的分化过程。这些范围从神经和神经胶质细胞，到骨骼成肌细胞和成骨细胞，以及造血系统的几种细胞类型。除了分化之外，半胱天冬酶还被证明在其他“非典型”过程中发挥作用，包括细胞增殖、停滞和衰老，从而有助于在多个水平上调节组织稳态的机制。值得注意的是，半胱天冬酶以积极和消极的方式直接影响细胞周期的进程。半胱天冬酶既切割细胞周期机制的元素，又是细胞周期激酶的底物。在这里，我们旨在总结半胱天冬酶和细胞周期调节剂之间相互作用的广度。我们还强调了该领域的最新发展。