Bruce suppresses autophagy-regulated caspase activity and wing tissue growth in Drosophila.

Bruce inhibits wing tissue growth in Drosophila by regulating autophagy-dependent activation of non-lethal caspase Dcp-1.

• Why it matters: Understanding how caspases are differentially regulated for non-lethal functions is crucial for insights into tissue growth and cellular outcomes beyond apoptosis, addressing a key gap in cell biology.
• What they did: The study used overexpression, proximity labeling, and structure prediction to identify that autophagy-related genes and Sirtuin 1 promote Dcp-1 activation, with Bruce acting as a specific regulator outside the apoptosome pathway.
• The result: Findings suggest that the autophagy-Bruce axis governs non-lethal Dcp-1 activity, enabling tissue growth regulation independent of cell death mechanisms.