Sprick Martin R, Walczak Henning
Department of Apoptosis Regulation, DKFZ Heidelberg, D040, Tumour Immunology Program, Im Neuenheimer Feld 280, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany.
Biochim Biophys Acta. 2004 Mar 1;1644(2-3):125-32. doi: 10.1016/j.bbamcr.2003.11.002.
Two principal pathways for apoptosis initiation exist. One pathway, which is also termed the 'extrinsic' pathway, is mediated by death receptors, a subgroup of the TNF receptor superfamily. The second pathway, which is also referred to as the 'intrinsic' pathway is controlled by members of the Bcl-2 family. A long standing discussion revolves around the question of how these two pathways influence each other in regulating the decision about life or death of a cell. Here, we review our current knowledge about the interactions between these two pathways and discuss current models which could help to resolve previous apparently contradictory results.
