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Apoptosis

Gone but not forgotten

Nature volume 405, pages 28–29 (2000)Cite this article

Multicellular animals are confronted daily with death and its consequences, at least at the cellular level. Cells die from wear and tear, as a part of differentiation and selection, and through mechanisms that provide for normal cellular turnover. Cells usually die by apoptosis, a death process that is controlled by intrinsic cellular mechanisms. But, in cases of severe injury, cells may instead undergo necrosis (a ‘passive’ death resulting in cellular lysis). Under both circumstances, the dead cells are rapidly cleared from the body, but each leaves imprints of its passing that can have long-term consequences. Dead cells do tell tales, and one way in which they do so is described by Fadok and colleagues1 on page 85 of this issue.

Apoptotic cell death was originally distinguished from necrosis on the basis of morphological differences and of the propensity for necrotic, but not apoptotic, cells to induce an inflammatory response. Although it is still unclear how necrotic cells trigger inflammation, this ability may be critical in linking tissue damage (and the consequent probable entry of harmful pathogens) to the generation of an immune response. In contrast, apoptosis is often described as a ‘silent death’. The earthly remains of cells resulting from an apoptotic death are buried (or rather, ‘eaten’) by phagocytic cells, effectively eliminating all physical evidence of death. However, the physiological ghosts of this form of death persist in the form of altered behaviour of the phagocytes.

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Figure 1: Phagocytes (including dendritic cells and macrophages) can engulf and degrade both apoptotic and necrotic cells.

References

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  1. La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology, 10355 Science Center Drive , San Diego, 92121, California, USA

    Douglas R. Green & Helen M. Beere

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  1. Douglas R. Green
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  2. Helen M. Beere
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Correspondence to Douglas R. Green.

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Green, D., Beere, H. Gone but not forgotten. Nature 405, 28–29 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1038/35011175

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