Van Cruchten S, Van Den Broeck W
Department of Morphology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Salisburylaan, Merelbeke, Belgium.
Anat Histol Embryol. 2002 Aug;31(4):214-23. doi: 10.1046/j.1439-0264.2002.00398.x.
Recent investigations have demonstrated the need for a precise differentiation of various forms of cell death such as apoptosis, oncosis, necrosis and programmed cell death. Apoptosis is marked by cellular shrinking, condensation and margination of the chromatin and ruffling of the plasma membrane with eventually breaking up of the cell in apoptotic bodies. Cell death marked by cellular swelling should be called oncosis, whereas the term necrosis refers to the morphological alterations appearing after cell death. Apoptosis and oncosis are therefore pre-mortal processes, while necrosis is a post-mortal condition. The term programmed cell death refers to the 'fixed' pathway followed by dying cells, whether or not with the characteristic morphology of apoptosis. Three mechanisms are actually known to be involved in the apoptotic process: a receptor-ligand mediated mechanism, a mitochondrial pathway and a mechanism in which the endoplasmic reticulum plays a central role. All three mechanisms activate caspases which are responsible for the characteristic morphological changes observed during apoptosis. A review of the different methods used for detecting apoptotic cells demonstrates that most of these techniques are not entirely specific.
最近的研究表明，需要对各种形式的细胞死亡进行精确区分，如凋亡、胀亡、坏死和程序性细胞死亡。凋亡的特征是细胞皱缩、染色质凝聚和边缘化以及质膜起皱，最终细胞裂解为凋亡小体。以细胞肿胀为特征的细胞死亡应称为胀亡，而坏死一词则指细胞死亡后出现的形态学改变。因此，凋亡和胀亡是濒死过程，而坏死是死后状态。程序性细胞死亡一词指的是垂死细胞遵循的“固定”途径，无论是否具有凋亡的特征形态。实际上已知有三种机制参与凋亡过程：受体-配体介导机制、线粒体途径和内质网起核心作用的机制。所有这三种机制都会激活半胱天冬酶，而半胱天冬酶负责在凋亡过程中观察到的特征性形态变化。对用于检测凋亡细胞的不同方法的综述表明，这些技术中的大多数并非完全特异。
