PathScan^® RP Total RIP3 Sandwich ELISA Kit

Background

The receptor-interacting protein (RIP) family of serine-threonine kinases (RIP, RIP2, RIP3, and RIP4) are important regulators of cellular stress that trigger pro-survival and inflammatory responses through the activation of NF-κB, as well as pro-apoptotic pathways (1). In addition to the kinase domain, RIP contains a death domain responsible for interaction with the death domain receptor Fas and recruitment to TNF-R1 through interaction with TRADD (2,3). RIP-deficient cells show a failure in TNF-mediated NF-κB activation, making the cells more sensitive to apoptosis (4,5). RIP also interacts with TNF-receptor-associated factors (TRAFs) and can recruit IKKs to the TNF-R1 signaling complex via interaction with NEMO, leading to IκB phosphorylation and degradation (6,7). Overexpression of RIP induces both NF-κB activation and apoptosis (2,3). Caspase-8-dependent cleavage of the RIP death domain can trigger the apoptotic activity of RIP (8).
Receptor-interacting protein 3 (RIP3) was originally found to interact with RIP and the TNF receptor complex to induce apoptosis and activation of NF-κB (9,10). It has subsequently been shown that the association between RIP and RIP3 is a key component of a signaling pathway that results in programmed necrosis (necroptosis), a necrotic-like cell death induced by TNF in the presence of caspase inhibitors (11-13). RIP3 is phosphorylated at Ser227 and targets the phosphorylation of mixed lineage kinase domain-like protein (MLKL), which is critical for necroptosis (14).