Polyclonal Antibody to Apaf-1 (NT)

The mammalian homologs of the key cell death gene CED-4 in C. elegans have been identified from human and mouse and have been designated apaf-1 (for apoptosis protease-activating factor 1) [1,2]. Apaf-1 binds cytochrome c (apaf-2) and caspase-9 (apaf-3), leading to caspase-9 activation. Activated caspase-9, in turn, cleaves and activates caspase-3, which is one of the key proteases, being responsible for the proteolytic cleavage of many key proteins in apoptosis [3]. Apaf-1 can also associate with caspase-4 and caspase-8 [4]. Apaf-1 is ubiquitously expressed in human tissues.