Sealing one's fate: control of cell death in neurons

BCL-2 family members and caspases are essential components of the death machinery in neurons. Identification of Apaf-1 as the mammalian homologue of Caenorhabditis elegans ced-4 provided the final proof of the complete conservation of the C. elegans programmed cell death pathway in mammals. When neu...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Current opinion in neurobiology 1998-02, Vol.8 (1), p.55-63
Main Authors: Bergeron, Louise, Yuan, Junying
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Apoptosis - genetics
Apoptosis - physiology
Cell Death - genetics
Cell Death - physiology
Humans
Nervous System Diseases - genetics
Nervous System Diseases - pathology
Neurons - physiology
Signal Transduction - genetics
Signal Transduction - physiology
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Summary:BCL-2 family members and caspases are essential components of the death machinery in neurons. Identification of Apaf-1 as the mammalian homologue of Caenorhabditis elegans ced-4 provided the final proof of the complete conservation of the C. elegans programmed cell death pathway in mammals. When neurons are deprived of trophic factors, a sequence of events is initiated, which includes a reduction in macromolecule synthesis, elevation of c-Jun and cyclin D1, and activation of BAX. The final episode of this sequence is the activation of caspases, which may mark the death commitment point at which neurons cannot be rescued by addition to trophic factors. In addition, recent evidence suggests that the components in the developmental programmed cell death pathway may play a critical role in neurodegenerative disorders.
ISSN:0959-4388
1873-6882
DOI:10.1016/S0959-4388(98)80008-1