title: A cellular response to an internal energy crisis.
abstract: Lack of an appropriate energy supply has been thought to induce cell death in a nonspecific manner by causing a decline in metabolism and a gradual cessation of cellular function. In this issue of Cell, Nutt et al. (2005) describe a new mechanism that directly links nutrient availability to apoptosis in Xenopus oocytes and show that age-dependent changes in the nutritional state of a cell might lead to caspase activation and apoptotic cell death.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell Biology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
authors.forename: Marta M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Lipinski
authors.forename: Junying
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yuan
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000502:physiology*; D020169:Caspases / Q000378:metabolism; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000502:physiology; D004734:Energy Metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D004789:Enzyme Activation / Q000502:physiology*; D005947:Glucose / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D009865:Oocytes / Q000378:metabolism*; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000502:physiology; D014982:Xenopus laevis
chemical_list: D020169:Caspases; D005947:Glucose