title: [Mitotic catastrophe: a special case of apoptosis].
abstract: Mitotic catastrophe is a poorly defined type of cell death linked to the abnormal activation of cyclin B/Cdk1. Here we propose that a conflict in cell cycle progression or DNA damage can lead to mitotic catastrophe, provided that cell cycle checkpoints are inhibited, in particular the DNA structure checkpoints and the spindle assembly checkpoint. Two subtypes of mitotic catastrophe can be distinguished. First, mitotic catastrophe can kill the cell during or close to the metaphase, in a p53-independent fashion, as this occurs in Chk2-inhibited heterokarya generated by fusion. Second, mitotic catastrophe can occur after failed mitosis, during the activation of the polyploidy checkpoint, in a partially p53-dependent fashion. In these conditions, cells die as a result of caspase activation and mitochondrial membrane permeabilization that constitute hallmarks of apoptosis. Prevention of caspase activation and/or mitochondrial damage avoids mitotic catastrophe, indicating that this form of cell death indeed constitutes a special case of apoptosis. Importantly, the suppression of mitotic catastrophe can favor asymmetric division and the generation of aneuploid cells. This delineates a molecular pathway through which failure to arrest the cell cycle and inhibition of apoptosis can favor the occurrence of cytogenetic abnormalities which are likely to participate in oncogenesis.
authors.affiliation: CNRS-UMR 8125, Institut Gustave Roussy, Pavilion de Recherche 1, 39, rue Camille-Desmoulins, F-94805 Villejuif, France. castedo@igr.fr
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Castedo
authors.forename: Guido
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Kroemer
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis; D061945:Caspase Inhibitors; D002453:Cell Cycle / Q000235:genetics; D004249:DNA Damage; D004194:Disease; D006801:Humans; D008938:Mitosis
chemical_list: D061945:Caspase Inhibitors
vernacular_title: La catastrophe mitotique: un cas particulier d'apoptose.