The CD95 (Fas/APO-1) death-inducing signaling complex (DISC) | © dkfz.de

A study from scientists of the German Cancer Research Center was selected for the cover image of the current issue of Molecular Cell.

Kolja Schleich , Martina Schnölzer, and colleagues working with Inna Lavrik analyzed the precise molecular composition of the so called Death Inducing Signaling Complex (DISC). Applying  a combination of quantitative proteomics and structural modeling, the researchers provided evidence that a chain formation of procaspase-8 is required for triggering apoptosis.

Kolja Schleich, Uwe Warnken, Nicolai Fricker, Selcen Öztürk, Petra Richter, Kerstin Kammerer, Martina Schnölzer, Peter H. Krammer und Inna N. Lavrik: Stoichiometry of the CD95 Death-Inducing Signaling Complex: Experimental and Modeling Evidence for a Death Effector Domain Chain Model. Molecular Cell 2012, DOI 10.1016/j.molcel.2012.05.006