@article {48317,
	title = {A near atomic structure of the active human apoptosome.},
	journal = {eLife},
	volume = {5},
	year = {2016},
	month = {2016 Oct 04},
	pages = {e17755},
	abstract = {<p>In response to cell death signals, an active apoptosome is assembled from Apaf-1 and procaspase-9 (pc-9). Here we report a near atomic structure of the active human apoptosome determined by cryo-electron microscopy. The resulting model gives insights into cytochrome c binding, nucleotide exchange and conformational changes that drive assembly. During activation an acentric disk is formed on the central hub of the apoptosome. This disk contains four Apaf-1/pc-9 CARD pairs arranged in a shallow spiral with the fourth pc-9 CARD at lower occupancy. On average, Apaf-1 CARDs recruit 3 to 5 pc-9 molecules to the apoptosome and one catalytic domain may be parked on the hub, when an odd number of zymogens are bound. This suggests a stoichiometry of one or at most, two pc-9 dimers per active apoptosome. Thus, our structure provides a molecular framework to understand the role of the apoptosome in programmed cell death and disease.</p>
},
	issn = {2050-084X},
	doi = {10.7554/eLife.17755},
	author = {Cheng, Tat Cheung and Hong, Chuan and Akey, Ildik{\'o} V and Yuan, Shujun and Akey, Christopher W}
}
