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Biochemical events in naturally occurring forms of cell death
Author(s) -
Fesus Laszlo
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
febs letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.593
H-Index - 257
eISSN - 1873-3468
pISSN - 0014-5793
DOI - 10.1016/0014-5793(93)80952-q
Subject(s) - programmed cell death , biology , microbiology and biotechnology , apoptosis , gene product , receptor , gene , dna fragmentation , retinoblastoma protein , cell , gene expression , genetics , cell cycle
Several molecular elements of programmed cell death and apoptosis have recently been revealed. The function of gene products which deliver the lethal ‘hit’ is still not known. Well‐characterized and newly discovered cell surface structures (e.g. antigen receptors, FAS/APO‐1 ), as well as transcriptional factors (steroid receptor, c‐ myc , P53 , retinoblastoma protein and others), have been implicated in the initiation of the death pathway. Negative regulators of the process ( ced‐9 gene product in programmed death of cells in Chaenorhabditis elegans and bcl‐2 protein in apoptosis) have been described. Biochemical mechanisms responsible for the silent nature of natural deaths of cells include their rapid engulfment (mainly through integrin receptors), transglutaminase‐catalyzed cross‐linking of cellular proteins, and fragmentation of DNA. Several lines of evidence suggest that distinct molecular mechanisms may operate in various forms of natural cell death.