Controlling Cell Death through Post-translational Modifications of DED Proteins

Apoptosis is a form of programmed cell death, deregulation of which occurs in multiple disorders, including neurodegenerative and autoimmune diseases as well as cancer. The formation of a death-inducing signaling complex (DISC) and death effector domain (DED) filaments are critical for initiation of the extrinsic apoptotic pathway. Post-translational modifications (PTMs) of DED-containing DISC components such as FADD, procaspase-8, and c-FLIP comprise an additional level of apoptosis regulation, which is necessary to overcome the threshold for apoptosis induction. In this review we discuss the influence of PTMs of FADD, procaspase-8, and c-FLIP on DED filament assembly and cell death induction, with a focus on the 3D organization of the DED filament.