Indap M A, Rao S G
Cancer Research Institute, Parel, Bombay, Maharashtra, India.
Natl Med J India. 1995 Mar-Apr;8(2):65-7.
The ways by which cell death takes place have generated great interest in recent years particularly in the field of cancer. The exact mechanisms which are responsible for tumour regression by drug treatment are also largely unknown and involve both enhanced cell death and arrested cell proliferation. Cell death is caused either by necrosis or by an active process in response to a specific stimulus which leads to elimination of a definite proportion of cells. This process of programmed cell death is referred to as apoptosis (a term coined by developmental biologists) and is a part of the morphogenetic processes, characterized by shrinkage of cells, condensation of nuclear chromatin, nuclear fragmentation and blebbing. Many successful cancer treatments presently undertaken depend upon induction of an apoptotic response in the target tumour cells. As apoptosis is considered to be an active gene-directed process, in tumours the precise mode of cell death after chemotherapy is important. Understanding the role of apoptosis in cancer will greatly broaden our knowledge of all stages of the disease process and its treatment. Thus, the role of apoptotic response modulation during the generation of neoplasia is an important issue and will remain an active area of present day investigations for improving the efficiency of chemotherapy. It is likely to become a valuable weapon in the war against cancer.
近年来，细胞死亡发生的方式引发了人们极大的兴趣，尤其是在癌症领域。药物治疗导致肿瘤消退的确切机制在很大程度上也尚不清楚，且涉及细胞死亡增加和细胞增殖停滞。细胞死亡要么由坏死引起，要么由对特定刺激的主动过程引起，该过程导致一定比例的细胞被清除。这种程序性细胞死亡过程被称为凋亡（这一术语由发育生物学家创造），是形态发生过程的一部分，其特征为细胞收缩、核染色质凝聚、核碎裂和出泡。目前进行的许多成功的癌症治疗都依赖于诱导靶肿瘤细胞发生凋亡反应。由于凋亡被认为是一个由基因指导的主动过程，在肿瘤中化疗后细胞死亡的精确模式很重要。了解凋亡在癌症中的作用将极大地拓宽我们对疾病过程及其治疗各个阶段的认识。因此，在肿瘤形成过程中调节凋亡反应的作用是一个重要问题，并且仍将是当今提高化疗效率研究的一个活跃领域。它很可能成为对抗癌症的一件有价值的武器。
