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Apoptosis

A cellular poison cupboard

Nature volume 397, pages 387–389 (1999)Cite this article

Apoptotic cell death is spectacular — one moment a cell looks peaceful and happy, the next it enters a violent programme of cytoplasmic blebbing worthy of the death throes of an actor in a B-movie. One fascinating aspect of apoptosis is that virtually all cells contain latent forms of the molecules that trigger this destructive burst. A report by Susin et al.1 on page 441 of this issue supports the idea that several of these key death factors normally reside in the space between the inner and outer membranes of the mitochondrion.

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Figure 1: The balance between life- and death-promoting factors in the mitochondrion.

References

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  1. the Institute of Cell and Molecular Biology, University of Edinburgh, Kings Buildings, EH9 3JR, Edinburgh, UK

    William C. Earnshaw

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  1. William C. Earnshaw
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Earnshaw, W. A cellular poison cupboard. Nature 397, 387–389 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1038/17015

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