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apoptosis

Origin: - apoptosis is from the Greek apo meaning 'from' & ptosis meaning 'a fall' - the term apoptosis was originally used to describe the cell death that occurred outside the zone of central necrosis resulting from ligation of the portal vein Physiology: - apoptosis is characterized by controlled auto-digestion of the cell through the activation of cellular proteases & endonucleases [1] - cytoskeletal disruption, cell shrinkage, membrane blebbing, nuclear condensation & loss of mitochondrial function are characteristics of apoptosis - the dying cell maintains its plasma membrane integrity; however alterations in surface molecules of apoptotic cells signal resident phagocytes to engulf them Pathology: - an important feature of apoptosis is that it results in elimination of the dying cell without induction of the inflammatory process - in contrast, necrotic cell death is associated with an early loss in membrane integrity, leakage of cytoplasmic contents & induction of the inflammatory process - necrosis is pathologic, whereas apoptosis can be pathologic or physiologic - two cell surface cytokine receptors, Fas/Apo-1 antigen & the TNF receptor trigger apoptosis by binding endogenous ligands or specific agonist antibodies - receptor activation leads to activation of caspases (the executioners). * see figure caspase signaling, see figure PI-3 kinase Laboratory: * image of myeloblast apoptosis [5]

Related

anti apoptotic protein pro apoptotic molecule

Useful

oncosis (ischemic cell death)

Specific

anoikis apoptosis pathways

General

cell death

References

  1. Thompson CB. Apoptosis in the pathogenesis and treatment of disease. Science. 1995 Mar 10;267(5203):1456-62. Review. PMID: 7878464
  2. Sedlak TW, Snyder SH. Messenger molecules and cell death: therapeutic implications. JAMA. 2006 Jan 4;295(1):81-9. PMID: 16391220
  3. Okada H, Mak TW. Pathways of apoptotic and non-apoptotic death in tumour cells. Nat Rev Cancer. 2004 Aug;4(8):592-603. Review. No abstract available. PMID: 15286739
  4. Danial NN, Korsmeyer SJ. Cell death: critical control points. Cell. 2004 Jan 23;116(2):205-19. Review. PMID: 14744432
  5. Markewitz RDH, Dargvainiene J Images in Clinical Medicine Mitotic and Apoptotic Figures on a Peripheral-Blood Smear. N Engl J Med. 2021. May 15 PMID: 34014049 https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMicm2033085

Databases & Figures

Kegg hsa/hsa04210 Figures/diagrams/slides/tables related to apoptosis Apoptosis