"Simple but not simpler": toward a unified picture of energy requirements in cell death.
In 1996, Wang and his group empirically disclosed a key role of (deoxy)-ATP in functioning of the apoptotic machinery. After almost a decade, and despite the emerged intricacy of the death pathways, ATP is still considered a key determinant of apoptosis with no apparent active roles in necrosis. Yet recent findings indicate that apoptosis proceeds even without energy and that necrosis can be regulated by ATP-dependent processes. This review strictly focuses on current knowledge on the role of energy in execution of different death programs. A thorough understanding of energy requirements in cell death can help to overcome obsolete dogmas in cell biology, paving the way to a more integrated, albeit not simpler, view of the molecular mechanisms contributing to cell dismantling.
Chiarugi
Alberto
A
Department of Pharmacology, University of Florence, Florence, Italy. alberto.chiarugi@unifi.it
D000255:Adenosine Triphosphate / Q000502:physiology; D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis; D053477:Apoptotic Protease-Activating Factor 1; D001671:Biochemistry / Q000379:methods*; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism; D020169:Caspases / Q000378:metabolism; D016923:Cell Death; D004734:Energy Metabolism; D006801:Humans; D047908:Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D008954:Models, Biological; D009336:Necrosis; D011506:Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D015398:Signal Transduction
C506592:APAF1 protein, human; D053477:Apoptotic Protease-Activating Factor 1; D047908:Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; D011506:Proteins; D000255:Adenosine Triphosphate; D020169:Caspases; D002118:Calcium