title: Xeno-cannibalism: a survival "escamotage".
abstract: Several lines of evidence have demonstrated that self-cannibalism (macroautophagy) is a well regulated process of cell repair as well as of molecule and organelle recycling that allows the cells to survive. However, autophagic activity also represents a cell death pathway characterized by specific features that differentiate autophagy from other cell death processes. We found that cells that are able to exert intense autophagic activity were also able to engulf and digest entire cell siblings. This phenomenon represents a sort of xeno-cannibalism. We wonder whether these two phenomena, self and xeno-cannibalism, could be related the latter being an exacerbation of the first and providing a further survival option to the cells.
authors.affiliation: Department of Drug Research and Evaluation, Istituto Superiore di Sanita', viale Regina Elena 299, 00161 Rome, Italy. malorni@iss.it
authors.forename: Walter
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Malorni
authors.forename: Paola
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Matarrese
authors.forename: Antonella
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tinari
authors.forename: Maria Grazia
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Farrace
authors.forename: Mauro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Piacentini
mesh_terms: D001343:Autophagy / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008954:Models, Biological