eLifeOct 19, 2026

Bruce reduces self-cleaning enzyme activity and wing growth in fruit flies

Longevity & Aging Weekly Brief ↗PubMed ↗DOI ↗OA ↗

Updated Oct 20, 2026

Abstract

Dcp-1 activation is governed by the autophagy-Bruce axis, which is associated with non-lethal tissue growth.

Dcp-1, unlike Drice, promotes tissue growth without engaging canonical apoptotic signaling.
Distinct proximal proteomes were identified for Dcp-1 activation, highlighting Sirtuin 1's role as a necessary component.
Autophagy-related genes, including Bcl-2 family members Debcl and Buffy, are essential for Dcp-1 activation.
Bruce, an autophagy-regulated inhibitor of apoptosis, specifically regulates Dcp-1 outside of the apoptosome pathway.
Physiologically, Bruce suppresses wing tissue growth, indicating its role in modulating Dcp-1's non-lethal functions.

Simplified

Caspases are cysteine-aspartic proteases that mediate both lethal and non-lethal cellular outcomes, including the promotion of tissue growth. However, the mechanisms underlying the differential regulation of these activities remain unclear. We have previously shown that among the two Drosophila executioner caspases, Dcp-1 and Drice, Dcp-1 promotes tissue growth in a non-lethal manner, independent of canonical apoptotic signaling. Herein, we demonstrated that overexpressed Dcp-1, but not Drice, was activated without canonical apoptosome components. TurboID-based proximity labeling revealed distinct proximal proteomes, among which Sirtuin 1, an Atg8a deacetylase, which promotes autophagy, was specifically required for Dcp-1 activation. Autophagy-related genes, including Bcl-2 family members Debcl and Buffy, are required for Dcp-1 activation. Structure-based prediction using AlphaFold3 further identified Bruce, an autophagy-regulated inhibitor of apoptosis, as a Dcp-1-specific regulator acting outside the apoptosome-mediated pathway. Physiologically, Bruce suppresses wing tissue growth. These findings indicate that non-lethal Dcp-1 activity is governed by the autophagy-Bruce axis, enabling distinct non-lethal functions independent of cell death.

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Bruce reduces self-cleaning enzyme activity and wing growth in fruit flies

Abstract

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