title: How the worm removes corpses: the nematode C. elegans as a model system to study engulfment.
abstract: Apoptotic cell death in the nematode C. elegans culminates with the removal of the dying cells from the organism. This removal is brought forth through a rapid and specific engulfment of the doomed cell by one of its neighbors. Over half a dozen genes have been identified that function in this process in the worm. Many of these engulfment genes have functional homologs in Drosophila and higher vertebrates. Indeed, there is growing evidence supporting the hypothesis that the pathways that mediate the removal of apoptotic cells might be, at least in part, conserved through evolution.
authors.affiliation: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, 1 Bungtown Road, Cold Spring Harbor, NY 11724, USA.
authors.forename: T L
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Gumienny
authors.forename: M O
authors.initials: MO
authors.lastname: Hengartner
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism*; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000378:metabolism; D003599:Cytoskeleton / Q000378:metabolism; D023421:Models, Animal; D010587:Phagocytosis; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface / Q000378:metabolism; D015398:Signal Transduction
chemical_list: D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface