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Active membrane rupture spurs a range of cell deaths

Rupture of the plasma membrane in different forms of cell death was long thought to be a passive process. The finding that it is an active one, mediated by a specific membrane protein, reveals an unexpected feature shared by dying cells.
  1. Sebastian Hiller

    1. Sebastian Hiller is at Biozentrum, University of Basel, 4056 Basel, Switzerland.

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  2. Petr Broz

    1. Petr Broz is in the Department of Biochemistry, University of Lausanne, 1066 Epalinges, Switzerland.

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Remarkable control mechanisms exist in multicellular organisms to ensure that their cells function normally and are properly removed when necessary. These removal mechanisms include multiple forms of cell death, most of which end in rupture of the cell’s plasma membrane. Until now, this breach of the cell’s outer layer was generally thought to be a consequence of an uncontrolled influx of water, driven by an ionic imbalance that boosts cellular osmotic pressure. However, writing in Nature, Kayagaki et al.1 report that this rupture is an active process, mediated by the plasma-membrane protein ninjurin-1 (NINJ1). This protein exerts its effect during the final step of many types of cell death.

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Nature 591, 36-37 (2021)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-021-00297-4

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