Dlamini Zodwa, Mbita Zukile, Zungu Makhosazana
Genetics and Developmental Biology Division, School of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, 2050, Johannesburg, South Africa.
Pharmacol Ther. 2004 Jan;101(1):1-15. doi: 10.1016/j.pharmthera.2003.08.005.
Apoptosis, known as programmed cell death, is a conserved, gene-directed mechanism for the elimination of unnecessary or unwanted cells from an organism. A retrospective look at the basis of human disease pathogenesis almost always reveals an apoptotic component that either contributes to disease progression or accounts for it. Modulating the expression of key molecular components of the cell death machinery is an attractive and obvious strategy for apoptosis-based therapeutics. Apoptosis is an important component of most developmental abnormalities and human diseases and in many cases the underlying cause of the resulting pathology. It has also become clear that many, if not all, viruses possess mechanisms to forestall apoptosis and provide a living host to enhance virus propagation. Diseases like AIDS involve excessive apoptosis, and suppression of apoptosis may restore functionality to the infected tissues. Although these are still early days, it is difficult not to get excited about the significant advances that have already been made. The true therapeutic benefits of apoptosis modulation for the treatment of many devastating human diseases remain to be discovered.
细胞凋亡，即程序性细胞死亡，是一种保守的、由基因指导的机制，用于从生物体中清除不必要或不需要的细胞。回顾人类疾病发病机制的基础，几乎总能发现一个凋亡成分，它要么促成疾病进展，要么是疾病进展的原因。调节细胞死亡机制关键分子成分的表达，是基于细胞凋亡的治疗方法中一种有吸引力且显而易见的策略。细胞凋亡是大多数发育异常和人类疾病的重要组成部分，在许多情况下是由此产生的病理学的根本原因。同样清楚的是，许多（即便不是全部）病毒都具备阻止细胞凋亡的机制，以便为病毒繁殖提供一个存活的宿主。像艾滋病这类疾病涉及过度的细胞凋亡，抑制细胞凋亡可能会恢复受感染组织的功能。尽管目前仍处于早期阶段，但很难不对已经取得的重大进展感到兴奋。细胞凋亡调节在治疗许多毁灭性人类疾病方面的真正治疗益处仍有待发现。
