Hyperphagia by self- and xeno-cannibalism: cell death by indigestion?: a reminiscence of the Phedrus Fabula "Rana Rupta et Bos"?
The occurrence of self- and xeno-cannibalism could be considered as two different aspects of the same well-regulated process. The formation of autophagosomes can represent a survival option for a cell in unfavorable conditions but it can also lead to cell demise. In fact, autophagy has been considered as an additional and clear-cut cell death pathway. We herein speculate that selfeating by autophagy could be paralleled by a cannibalistic behavior, e.g., by cell feeding of siblings, that can also become detrimental. This behavior in fact, once exacerbated, can also lead to cell death, probably bolstering intracellular oxidative imbalance. In this case, a survival option, such as self- and xeno-cannibalism, can be turned into a peculiar death option: cell death by feeding excess. Under this point of view, over-feeding cells are reminiscent of the frog in the Phedrus Fabula "Rana Rupta et Bos".
Tinari
Antonella
A
Istituto Superiore di Sanita', Rome, Italy.
Matarrese
Paola
P
Minetti
Maurizio
M
Malorni
Walter
W
D000818:Animals; D001343:Autophagy / Q000502:physiology*; D002190:Cannibalism; D002417:Cattle; D016923:Cell Death; D002470:Cell Survival; D004415:Dyspepsia; D006963:Hyperphagia; D011898:Ranidae