title: Caenorhabditis elegans gene ced-9 protects cells from programmed cell death.
abstract: The gene ced-9 of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans acts to protect cells from programmed cell death. A mutation that abnormally activates ced-9 prevents the cell deaths that occur during normal C. elegans development. Conversely, mutations that inactivate ced-9 cause cells that normally live to undergo programmed cell death; these mutations result in embryonic lethality, indicating that ced-9 function is essential for development. The ced-9 gene functions by negatively regulating the activities of other genes that are required for the process of programmed cell death.
authors.affiliation: Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge 02139.
authors.forename: M O
authors.initials: MO
authors.lastname: Hengartner
authors.forename: R E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Ellis
authors.forename: H R
authors.initials: HR
authors.lastname: Horvitz
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002107:Caenorhabditis / Q000196:embryology / Q000235:genetics*; D016923:Cell Death / Q000235:genetics*; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D005804:Genes, Lethal; D005838:Genotype; D009154:Mutation; D010641:Phenotype