Roles of the FOXA transcription factor Fork head in autophagic developmental cell death.

Fork head (Fkh) is the only fruit fly ortholog of the FOXA subgroup of FOX transcription factors. Recent studies on the role of Fkh in autophagic cell death during Drosophila metamorphosis identified Fkh as a competence factor for steroid-induced cell death. Microarray analyses suggest that, in addition to controlling essential apoptosis genes, Fkh controls autophagic and cell survival pathways. The data support a model in which Fkh promotes cell growth and survival by coordinating the cell's ability to respond to death and autophagy-controlling signals.