BACKGROUND

Apoptosis, a determined form of programmed cell death (PCD), occurs in multi-cellular and single-celled organisms. Given that a general understanding of apoptosis in single-cell is crucial for designing disease control policies, we reviewed the apoptosis mechanism and the proteins involved.

METHODS

The information was obtained from articles published in PubMed, SciELO, Science Direct, Scopus, Google Scholar, and Web of Science databases (1998-2021). Search terms used were" apoptosis" or" Leishmaniasis".

RESULTS

The 77 subjects were included in the study that revealed the significance of the apoptosis process for survival. Although, various stimuli induce apoptosis, the proteins involved in apoptosis have been poorly understood. Metacaspases in instead of caspase and death receptors in mammals play the same role in the PCD pathways. Also, other apoptotic proteins in such as endonuclease G (EndoG), caspases- like cysteine proteases, TSN (Tudor Staphylococcal Nuclease), and Zinnia endonuclease 1 (ZEN1) lead to phenotype similar to mammalian apoptosis. Furthermore, there are differences in these mechanisms between the different species of and studies to illustrate downstream events related to the serine phosphatidylcholine exposure, cytochrome C secretion, etc. remain an ongoing challenge.

CONCLUSION

Determining the essential regulatory proteins in the apoptosis and the specific present of metacaspases in parasite, is effective for designing new therapeutic strategies against leishmaniasis and vaccine development.