24 kilodalton cytoplasmic protease activating DNA fragmentation in apoptosis

摘要

An apoptosis-associated protease having a relative mass of 24 kilodaltons and a defined amino acid composition is disclosed, together with a method for its purification from a cytoplasmic extract of mammalian cells treated with an apoptosis-inducing agent, such as tumor necrosis factor- alpha or UV irradiation, that comprises affinity chromatography with the serine protease inhibitor DK120 followed by heparin-sepharose chromatography. The protease has activity against the elastase-like substrate MAAPV and is capable of inducing apoptosis in isolated U937 cell target nuclei.