title: Induction of apoptosis by cancer chemotherapy.
abstract: Studies performed over the past five years have demonstrated that there are two major cell-intrinsic pathways for inducing apoptosis, one that begins with ligation of cell surface death receptors and another that involves mitochondrial release of cytochrome c. Several reports have suggested that anticancer drugs kill susceptible cells by inducing expression of death receptor ligands, especially Fas ligand (FasL). Other reports have indicated that chemotherapeutic agents trigger apoptosis by inducing release of cytochrome c from mitochondria. In this review, we describe the two prototypic death pathways, indicate experimental approaches for distinguishing whether chemotherapeutic agents trigger one pathway or the other, summarize current understanding of the role of the two pathways in chemotherapy-induced apoptosis, and discuss the implications of these studies for mechanisms of resistance to chemotherapeutic agents.
authors.affiliation: Division of Oncology Research, Mayo Graduate School, Rochester, Minnesota 55905, USA. Kaufmann.Scott@Mayo.edu
authors.forename: S H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Kaufmann
authors.forename: W C
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Earnshaw
mesh_terms: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use / Q000633:toxicity*; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects*; D003574:Cytochrome c Group / Q000378:metabolism; D053222:Fas Ligand Protein; D006801:Humans; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins / Q000502:physiology; D008928:Mitochondria / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D018124:Receptors, Tumor Necrosis Factor / Q000502:physiology; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured; D019014:fas Receptor / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D003574:Cytochrome c Group; C505661:FASLG protein, human; D053222:Fas Ligand Protein; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins; D018124:Receptors, Tumor Necrosis Factor; D019014:fas Receptor