Eastman A
Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Dartmouth Medical School, Hanover, New Hampshire 03755-3835.
Toxicol Appl Pharmacol. 1993 Jul;121(1):160-4. doi: 10.1006/taap.1993.1141.
Apoptosis is a form of cell death defined by morphological and biochemical characteristics. Although originally described in 1972, it is only very recently that significant interest in the subject has occurred, possibly as a result of the identification of genes that may either positively or negatively regulate the process. With the rapid expansion of knowledge, it has become apparent that there are multiple pathways that induce apoptosis; some of these may represent programmed events but others are clearly unprogrammed. To clarify the terminology used, it is recommended that apoptosis be used as originally defined to refer only to the end product of these pathways. Furthermore, the realization that a cell can die by multiple pathways suggests caution when translating experimental results. Many potential intermediates may be identified but they may represent components of different pathways. Concern for the use of various inhibitors of apoptosis is also presented. Future directions will be aimed at the definitive identification of the signal mechanisms regulating apoptotic cell death.
细胞凋亡是一种由形态学和生化特征所定义的细胞死亡形式。尽管它在1972年就被首次描述，但直到最近人们才对这一主题产生了浓厚兴趣，这可能是由于发现了一些可能正向或负向调节该过程的基因。随着知识的迅速扩展，很明显存在多种诱导细胞凋亡的途径；其中一些可能代表程序性事件，但其他一些显然是非程序性的。为了澄清所用术语，建议按照最初的定义使用细胞凋亡一词，仅指这些途径的最终产物。此外，认识到细胞可以通过多种途径死亡，这表明在解读实验结果时要谨慎。可能会鉴定出许多潜在的中间体，但它们可能代表不同途径的组成部分。文中还提到了对各种细胞凋亡抑制剂使用的关注。未来的方向将旨在明确鉴定调节凋亡性细胞死亡的信号机制。
