Caspase-2 resides in the mitochondria and mediates apoptosis directly from the mitochondrial compartment

Caspase-2 plays an important role in apoptosis induced by several stimuli, including oxidative stress. However, the subcellular localization of caspase-2, particularly its presence in the mitochondria, is unclear. It is also not known if cytosolic caspase-2 translocates to the mitochondria to trigger the intrinsic pathway of apoptosis or if caspase-2 is constitutively present in the mitochondria that then selectively mediates this apoptotic effect. Here, we demonstrate the presence of caspase-2 in purified mitochondrial fractions from in vitro-cultured cells and in liver hepatocytes using immunoblots and confocal microscopy. We show that mitochondrial caspase-2 is functionally active by performing fluorescence resonance energy transfer analyses using a mitochondrially targeted substrate flanked by donor and acceptor fluorophores. Cell-free apoptotic assays involving recombination of nuclear, cytosolic and mitochondrial fractions from the livers of wild type and Casp2^−/− mice clearly point to a direct functional role for mitochondrial caspase-2 in apoptosis. Furthermore, cytochrome c release from Casp2^−/− cells is decreased as compared with controls upon treatment with agents inducing mitochondrial dysfunction. Finally, we show that Casp2^−/− primary skin fibroblasts are protected from oxidants that target the mitochondrial electron transport chain. Taken together, our results demonstrate that caspase-2 exists in the mitochondria and that it is essential for mitochondrial oxidative stress-induced apoptosis.