Constitutive Expression of the Machinery for Programmed Cell Death

In the presence of cycloheximide (CHX) to inhibit protein synthesis, a high concentration of staurosporine (STS) induces almost all cells in explant cultures of 8/8 types of newborn mouse organs and 3/3 types of adult mouse organs to die with the characteristic features of apoptosis. Eggs and blasto...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of cell biology 1996-06, Vol.133 (5), p.1053-1059
Main Authors: Weil, M., Jacobson, M. D., Coles, H. S. R., Davies, T. J., Gardner, R. L., Raff, K. D., Raff, M. C.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Alkaloids - pharmacology
Animals
Animals, Newborn
Apoptosis
Apoptosis - drug effects
Apoptosis - physiology
Blastocyst - cytology
Blastocyst - drug effects
Blastomeres
Blastomeres - cytology
Blastomeres - drug effects
Cell death
Cell lines
Cell nucleus
Cells
Cellular biology
Chondrocytes
Cultured cells
Cycloheximide - pharmacology
Embryos
Enzyme Inhibitors - pharmacology
Erythrocytes
Erythrocytes - cytology
Erythrocytes - drug effects
Female
Humans
Mammals
Mice
Mice, Inbred BALB C
Mice, Inbred C57BL
Organ Culture Techniques
Ovum - cytology
Ovum - drug effects
Protein Kinase Inhibitors
Protein Synthesis Inhibitors - pharmacology
Proteins
Rats
Rats, Sprague-Dawley
Staurosporine
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Summary:In the presence of cycloheximide (CHX) to inhibit protein synthesis, a high concentration of staurosporine (STS) induces almost all cells in explant cultures of 8/8 types of newborn mouse organs and 3/3 types of adult mouse organs to die with the characteristic features of apoptosis. Eggs and blastomeres also die in this way when treated with STS and CHX, although they are less sensitive to this treatment than trophectoderm or inner cell mass cells whose sensitivity resembles that of other developing cells. Human red blood cells are exceptional in being completely resistant to treatment with STS and CHX. As (STS plus CHX)-induced cell deaths have been shown to display the characteristic features of programmed cell death (PCD), we conclude that all mammalian nucleated cells are capable of undergoing PCD and constitutively express all the proteins required to do so. It seems that the machinery for PCD is in place and ready to run, even though its activation often depends on new RNA and protein synthesis.
ISSN:0021-9525
1540-8140
DOI:10.1083/jcb.133.5.1053