Bellamy C O, Malcomson R D, Harrison D J, Wyllie A H
Department of Pathology, University Medical School, Edinburgh, UK.
Semin Cancer Biol. 1995 Feb;6(1):3-16. doi: 10.1006/scbi.1995.0002.
Apoptosis is a morphologically stereotyped form of cell death, prevalent in multicellular organisms, by which single cells are deleted from the midst of living tissues. Recognition of the cellular corpses and their removal by phagocytosis occurs without disturbance to tissue architecture or function and without initiating inflammation. Apoptosis is regulable and is of fundamental importance to tissue development and homeostasis. Cellular susceptibility to apoptosis is determined by a variety of signals, of both extracellular and internal origin, including proliferative status. Dysregulated apoptosis is important in the pathogenesis of several important human diseases including neoplasia, and recognition of the defects involved is prompting development of new therapeutic strategies.
细胞凋亡是一种形态学上固定的细胞死亡形式，在多细胞生物中普遍存在，通过这种方式，单个细胞从活组织中被清除。细胞尸体的识别以及通过吞噬作用将其清除的过程不会干扰组织结构或功能，也不会引发炎症。细胞凋亡是可调节的，对组织发育和体内平衡至关重要。细胞对细胞凋亡的易感性由多种细胞外和细胞内来源的信号决定，包括增殖状态。细胞凋亡失调在包括肿瘤形成在内的几种重要人类疾病的发病机制中起重要作用，对所涉及缺陷的认识正在推动新治疗策略的发展。
