Death of A Cell: Introduction

In eukaryotic organisms the cooperation that must exist between cells requires, that when they are ready to die, they should disintegrate in an orderly way. Breaking down and packaging up their organelles, nutrients and waste in such a way as to benefit or at least not harm neighboring cells. This is apoptosis.
Apoptosis plays an important role in disease states. Some signals initiate apoptosis when the DNA damage is too great to repair. In cancer, apoptosis is often inhibited, allowing the cancerous cells to proliferate. Apoptosis is also focused on by researchers in Cancer. Conversely, some bacterial invaders can induce early apoptosis to complete their own life cycles.

The Team

This TIP is created for LFSC 620 Molecular Genetics.
Spring 2006.
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