Abstract
Apoptotic cell death is mediated by molecular pathways that culminate in the activation of a family of cysteine proteases, known as the caspases, which orchestrate the dismantling and clearance of the dying cell. However, mounting evidence indicates that a cell that has been treated with an apoptotic inducer can also initiate a suicide programme that does not rely on caspase activation. Here, we present recent findings and discuss the physiological relevance of caspase-independent cell death.
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Acknowledgements
Owing to space restrictions, we could not include all pertinent references and we apologize to researchers whose efforts could not be acknowledged. We would like to thank N. Waterhouse for kindly sharing bright-field and electron micrographs.
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Chipuk, J., Green, D. Do inducers of apoptosis trigger caspase-independent cell death?. Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol 6, 268–275 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrm1573
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrm1573
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