Characterisation of the bir domain

Abstract

Apoptosis is the process whereby unwanted or damaged cells are removed from an organism. The process is initiated by numerous stimuli which trigger an array of effector cysteine proteases. The signalling and activation pathways that connect cell death stimuli to apoptosis effector mechanisms have not been fully elucidated. One family of proteins involved in connecting stimuli to ef fector mechanisms is the Inhibitor of Apoptosis (IAP) class. lAPs were first identified as genes expressed by baculovires upon invasion of an insect cell. All IAP proteins contain several copies of the Baculoviral IAP Repeat (BIR) motif. lAPs are highly conserved across a number of species suggesting that they hav..