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Nature Cell Biology 3, E91–E92 (1 April 2001) | doi:10.1038/35070151

Apoptosis: caspases orchestrate the ROCK `n' bleb

Yann Leverrier & Anne J. Ridley

Apoptosis is a form of cell death characterized by a number of morphological changes, including membrane blebbing, cell shrinkage, nuclear and cytoplasmic condensation, and a final breaking up into apoptotic bodies. When adherent cells enter apoptosis, their attachment to the extracellular matrix becomes weakened and they retract, probably as a result of a loss of focal adhesions.