Straface Elisabetta, Gambardella Lucrezia, Brandani Marta, Malorni Walter
Department of Therapeutic Research and Medicine Evaluation, Istituto Superiore di Sanita, Rome, Italy.
Handb Exp Pharmacol. 2012(214):49-65. doi: 10.1007/978-3-642-30726-3_3.
Different pathways involved in the complex machinery implicated in determining cell fate have been investigated in the recent years. Different forms of cell death have been described: apart from the "classical" form of death known as necrosis, a well characterized traumatic injury of the cell, several additional forms of cell death have been identified. Among these, apoptosis has been characterized in detail. These studies stem from the implication that the apoptotic process plays a key role in a plethora of human pathologies, including cardiovascular diseases. In fact, defects in the mechanisms of cell death, i.e., both an increase or a decrease of apoptosis, have been associated with the pathogenesis of vessel and myocardial diseases. Some new insights also derived from the study of autophagy, a less characterized form of cell damage mainly associated with cell survival strategies but that also leads, as final event, to the death of the cell. Interestingly, very recently, a gender difference has been found in this respect: cells from males and females can behave differently. In fact, they seem to display several different features, including those determining their fate. These gender cytology differences are briefly described here. The study of this gender disparity is of great relevance in cardiovascular disease pathogenesis and pharmacology. The comprehension of the gender-related mechanisms of cell demise can in fact disclose new scenarios in preclinical and clinical management of cardiovascular diseases.
近年来，人们对决定细胞命运的复杂机制中涉及的不同途径进行了研究。已经描述了不同形式的细胞死亡：除了被称为坏死的“经典”死亡形式，即一种特征明确的细胞创伤性损伤外，还发现了几种其他形式的细胞死亡。其中，凋亡已得到详细描述。这些研究源于这样一种观点，即凋亡过程在包括心血管疾病在内的众多人类疾病中起着关键作用。事实上，细胞死亡机制的缺陷，即凋亡的增加或减少，都与血管和心肌疾病的发病机制有关。一些新的见解也来自于对自噬的研究，自噬是一种特征较少的细胞损伤形式，主要与细胞存活策略有关，但最终也会导致细胞死亡。有趣的是，最近在这方面发现了性别差异：雄性和雌性细胞的行为可能不同。事实上，它们似乎表现出几种不同的特征，包括那些决定其命运的特征。这里简要描述这些性别细胞学差异。对这种性别差异的研究在心血管疾病发病机制和药理学中具有重要意义。事实上，理解与性别相关的细胞死亡机制可以揭示心血管疾病临床前和临床管理中的新情况。
