Caspase-3 is a widely expressed member of a conserved family of proteins, generally recognized for their activated proteolytic roles in the execution of apoptosis in cells responding to specific extrinsic or intrinsic inducers of this mode of cell death. However, accumulating evidence indicates that caspase-3 also plays key roles in regulating the growth and homeostatic maintenance of both normal and malignant cells and tissues in multicellular organisms. Given that yeast possess an ancestral caspase-like gene suggests that the caspase-3 protein may have acquired different functions later during evolution to better meet the needs of more complex multicellular organisms, but without necessarily losing all of the functions of its ancestral yeast precursor. This review provides an update on what has been learned about these interesting dichotomous roles of caspase-3, their evolution, and their potential relevance to malignant as well as normal cell biology.

中文翻译：

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Caspase-3 在调节细胞存活、增殖和肿瘤发生中的矛盾作用

Caspase-3 是一个保守蛋白家族中广泛表达的成员，通常因其在响应这种细胞死亡模式的特定外在或内在诱导剂而执行细胞凋亡中激活的蛋白水解作用而被认可。然而，越来越多的证据表明 caspase-3 在调节多细胞生物中正常和恶性细胞和组织的生长和稳态维持方面也发挥着关键作用。鉴于酵母拥有祖先 caspase 样基因，表明 caspase-3 蛋白可能在进化过程中后期获得了不同的功能，以更好地满足更复杂的多细胞生物体的需求，但不一定会失去其祖先酵母前体的所有功能。这篇综述提供了有关 caspase-3 这些有趣的二分作用、它们的进化以及它们与恶性和正常细胞生物学的潜在相关性的最新知识。