title: Biochemical events in naturally occurring forms of cell death.
abstract: 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 Caenorhabditis 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, University School of Medicine, Debrecen, Hungary.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Fesus
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000502:physiology*; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans; D016923:Cell Death / Q000502:physiology; D004249:DNA Damage / Q000502:physiology; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins / Q000502:physiology; D011946:Receptors, Antigen / Q000502:physiology; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins; D011946:Receptors, Antigen; D014157:Transcription Factors