title: [Molecular biology of cell death].
abstract: Apoptosis is an active mechanism for cell death that is characterized by unique biochemical processes, including nuclear condensation, cytoplasmic compaction and breaking up of the cells into a number of membrane-bound fragments called apoptotic bodies. Many physiological cell death is known to proceed by apoptosis, and importance of cell death in a variety of biological phenomena is now well recognized. Eukaryotic molecular biology resulted in the identification of several genes with an ability to modulate apoptosis. Some genes induce and the others inhibit apoptotic cell death. These include oncogenes (bcl-2, myc etc), anti-oncogenes (p53) and cell surface antigen genes (Fas, TNF receptor etc). Genetical approach to dissect programmed cell death, majority of which proceed by apoptosis resulted in the identification of several crucial genes involved in cell death processes (ced 3, ced 4, ced 9 etc. in C. elegans). In this chapter, I will overview genes involved in cell death, and show where we are now standing toward complete understanding of apoptosis in biochemical terms.
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Medical Genetics, Osaka University Medical School, Suita, Japan.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tsujimoto
mesh_terms: D017209:Apoptosis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D016153:Genes, Suppressor; D016762:Genes, fos; D016259:Genes, myc; D016158:Genes, p53; D011905:Genes, ras; D006801:Humans; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2; D011519:Proto-Oncogenes
chemical_list: D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2