Regulation of procaspase-2 by glucocorticoid modulatory element-binding protein 1 through the interaction with caspase recruitment domain

Caspases are the primary executioners of apoptosis. Although procaspases believe to exist as inactive forms in cells, the detailed regulatory system remains unclear. Here we show that glucocorticoid modulatory element-binding protein 1 (GMEB1) is capable of binding to the prodomain of caspase-2. We found that this molecule inhibits the autoproteolytic activation of procaspase-2 by oligomerization on a chemical compound-dependent system. These findings indicated that GMEB1 might be an endogenous inhibitory protein that selectively interacts with prodomain of caspase-2 to disrupt the autoactivation.