Olasode B J
Department of Morbid Anatomy and Forensic Medicine, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Health Sciences, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria.
East Afr Med J. 1997 Feb;74(2):108-11.
Apoptosis differs from necrosis in that no inflammatory changes occur. The understanding of apoptosis was greatly improved by the discovery of a natural model of apoptosis in Caenorhabditis elegans, a nematode worm. The study of this worm led to the discovery of two sets of genes, the prosuicide genes and the antisuicide genes which control apoptosis. Apoptosis is an active process that involves w activation of specific enzymes. The understanding of the molecular biology of apoptosis may in future lead to the availability of a potent weapon to use against cancer and to modify cell death that occurs in the neurodegenerative disorders.
