title: [Methuosis: a novel type of cell death].
abstract: Cell death is a major physiological or pathological phenomenon in life activities. The classic forms of cell death include apoptosis, necrosis, and autophagy. Recently, a novel type of cell death has been observed and termed as methuosis, in which excessive stimuli can induce cytoplasmic uptake and accumulation of small bubbles that gradually merge into giant vacuoles, eventually leading to decreased cellular metabolic activity, cell membrane rupture and cell death. In this article, we describe the nomenclature, morphological characteristics and underlying mechanisms of methuosis, compare methuosis with autophagy, oncosis and paraptosis, and review the related researches.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Molecular Biology ,School of Traditional Chinese Medcine, Southern Medical University,Guangzhou 510515, China. E-mail: chbing2008@126.com.
authors.forename: Hongbing
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Cai
authors.forename: Jinkun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Qin
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.forename: Xin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D017209:Apoptosis; D001343:Autophagy; D016923:Cell Death; D003593:Cytoplasm; D006801:Humans; D009336:Necrosis; D014617:Vacuoles