Reed John C, Green Douglas R
The Burnham Institute, 10901 N. Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA.
Mol Cell. 2002 Jan;9(1):1-3. doi: 10.1016/s1097-2765(02)00437-9.
The release of Cytochrome c from mitochondria is a pivotal event in the apoptotic process, but the precise mechanisms remain controversial. A recent paper proposes that this involves two steps, one involving permeabilization of the mitochondrial outer membrane and a second in which the structural organization of the cristae changes to make Cytochrome c accessible for release. Both events are induced by proapoptotic members of the Bcl-2 family and appear to be separable.
