Evolution of caspase-mediated cell death and differentiation: twins separated at birth

The phenotypic and biochemical similarities between caspase-mediated apoptosis and cellular differentiation are striking. They include such diverse phenomenon as mitochondrial membrane perturbations, cytoskeletal rearrangements and DNA fragmentation. The parallels between the two disparate processes...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Cell death and differentiation 2017-08, Vol.24 (8), p.1359-1368
Main Authors: Bell, Ryan A V, Megeney, Lynn A
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
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Animals
Apoptosis
Apoptosis - genetics
Biochemistry
Biological Evolution
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Caspase
Caspases - genetics
Caspases - metabolism
Cell Biology
Cell Cycle Analysis
Cell death
Cell Differentiation - genetics
Cell division
Cytoskeleton
Cytoskeleton - enzymology
Cytoskeleton - ultrastructure
DNA Fragmentation
Eukaryotic Cells - cytology
Eukaryotic Cells - enzymology
Evolution
Fidelity
Gene Expression Regulation
Humans
Life Sciences
Mitochondria
Mitochondria - enzymology
Mitochondria - ultrastructure
Mitochondrial Membranes - enzymology
Mitochondrial Membranes - ultrastructure
Proteostasis - genetics
Quality control
Review
Signal Transduction
Stem Cells
Twins
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Summary:The phenotypic and biochemical similarities between caspase-mediated apoptosis and cellular differentiation are striking. They include such diverse phenomenon as mitochondrial membrane perturbations, cytoskeletal rearrangements and DNA fragmentation. The parallels between the two disparate processes suggest some common ancestry and highlight the paradoxical nature of the death-centric view of caspases. That is, what is the driving selective pressure that sustains death-inducing proteins throughout eukaryotic evolution? Plausibly, caspase function may be rooted in a primordial non-death function, such as cell differentiation, and was co-opted for its role in programmed cell death. This review will delve into the links between caspase-mediated apoptosis and cell differentiation and examine the distinguishing features of these events. More critically, we chronicle the evolutionary origins of caspases and propose that caspases may have held an ancient role in mediating the fidelity of cell division/differentiation through its effects on proteostasis and protein quality control.
ISSN:1350-9047
1476-5403
DOI:10.1038/cdd.2017.37