Caspase-8 Inhibitor Drug Screening Kit (Fluorometric)

Caspases (Cysteine-dependent aspartate-directed proteases) are a family of cysteine proteases that play important roles in apoptosis, inflammation and necrosis. Sequential activation of caspases plays an important role in cell apoptosis. Inhibition of caspases can delay apoptosis, indicating a potential role in drug screening efforts. Caspase-8 is a caspase protein that involved in the programmed cell death induced by Fas and different apoptotic stimuli, and cleaves and activates Caspase-3. Caspase-8 was detected in the insoluble fraction of the affected brain region in Huntington disease patients, which suggested it plays a critical role in neurodegenerative diseases.

 The Caspase-8 Inhibitor Drug Screening Kit (Fluorometric) provides a simple, fast and convenient way for screening of caspase-8 inhibitors based on fluorometric method. The synthetic peptide substrate IETD-AFC (AFC: 7-amino-4-trifluoromethyl coumarin) emits blue light (λmax = 400 nm). While cleavage of IETD-AFC by active caspase-8, free AFC emits a yellow-green fluorescence (λmax = 505 nm) that can be quantified by a fluorecence microtiter plate reader or a fluorometer. Inhibitors can be directly added to the reaction and the efficacy of inhibition of caspase-8 activity is determined by comparison of the fluorescence intensity in samples without and with the testing inhibitors.