Positive and negative effects of CaMCA1 deletion on stress sensitivity and virulence
Metacaspases are cysteine proteases and are found in every group of organisms except animals. They are structural orthologs of caspases, which orchestrate apoptosis in animals. Caspases, metacaspases, paracaspases and orthocaspases are class C14 proteases with a similar active site (the hemoglobinase fold) and a catalytic cysteine residue. However, metacaspases cleave after arginine and lysine…
Metacaspases, a type of cysteine protease, are present in all life forms except animals. Functioning like caspases, metacaspases orchestrate apoptosis in organisms. Despite sharing a similar active site and a catalytic cysteine residue, metacaspases cleave after arginine and lysine rather than aspartate. Most metacaspases are activated by calcium and do not target the same proteins as caspases.
Additionally, they often cut multiple times instead of once. The Candida albicans metacaspase Mca1p plays a dual role in the cell, promoting stress sensitivity and reducing virulence in cells from stationary phase culture, but also mediating cell death in response to various stresses in exponential phase cells.
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