Cell competition: the embrace of death.
Cell competition compares cells within a growing population and eliminates the weaker ones by apoptosis. In a recent issue of Cell, Li and Baker (2007) show in the Drosophila wing disc that cells fated to die induce in neighboring cells the activity of engulfment genes, whose function is essential to complete the apoptotic program.
Morata
Ginés
G
Centro de Biología Molecular, CSIC-UAM, Madrid, Spain. gmorata@cbm.uam.es
Martín
Francisco A
FA
D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000502:physiology*; D004330:Drosophila / Q000254:growth & development*; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental