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Nature Immunology 9, 1099–1100 (1 October 2008) | doi:10.1038/ni1008-1099

Sensing necrosis with Mincle

Gordon D Brown

Cell death is required for the development and maintenance of multicellular organisms and normally occurs through apoptosis, a programmed death pathway that leads to the recognition and clearance of the dying cells by phagocytes without inducing inflammatory responses. However, inefficient clearance of apoptotic cells or cell death by other means, such as that caused by injury, leads to necrosis, which is characterized by the disruption of cellular membranes and the release of cytoplasmic and nuclear components.