Apoptosis or Programmed Cell Death is basically cellular suicide.Apoptosis is the term given when programmed cell death (PCD) occurs in multicellular organisms. Apoptosis is one of the main types of programmed cell death which involves a series of biochemical events leading to specific cell morphology characteristics and ultimately death of cells. Characteristic cell morphology of cells undergoing apoptosis include blebbing, changes to the cell membrane such as loss of membrane asymmetry and attachment, cell shrinkage, nuclear fragmentation, chromatin condensation, and chromosomal DNA fragmentation. Apoptosis differentiates from necrosis as the processes associated with apoptosis in disposal of cellular debris do not damage the organism in apoptosis.
Necrosis is a form of traumatic cell death that results from acute cellular injury. Apoptosis in contrast to necrosis, confers advantages during an organism's life cycle. For instance during the development of the fetus in the mother, the differentiation of fingers and toes occurs because cells between the fingers apoptose with the end result that the digits are separate. Approximately between 50 billion and 70 billion cells die each day due to apoptosis in the average human adult. In a year, this amounts to the proliferation and subsequent destruction of a mass of cells equal to an individual's body weight.
Features of Apoptosis
Cell termination
Apoptosis occurs when a cell is damaged beyond repair, infected with a virus, or undergoing stressful conditions such as starvation. Damage to DNA from ionizing radiation or toxic chemicals can also induce apoptosis via the actions of the tumor-suppressing gene p53. The "decision" for apoptosis can come from the cell itself, from the surrounding tissue, or from a cell that is part of the immune system. In these cases apoptosis functions to remove the damaged cell, preventing it from sapping further nutrients from the organism, or halting further spread of viral infection.
Apoptosis also plays a role in preventing cancer. If a cell is unable to undergo apoptosis because of mutation or biochemical inhibition, it continues to divide and develop into a tumor. For example, infection by papillomaviruses causes a viral gene to interfere with the cell's p53 protein, an important member of the apoptotic pathway. This interference in the apoptotic capability of the cell plays a role in the development of cervical cancer.
Mitochondrial regulation
The mitochondria are essential to multicellular life. Without them, a cell ceases to respire aerobically and quickly dies, a fact exploited by some apoptotic pathways. Apoptotic proteins that target mitochondria affect them in different ways. They may cause mitochondrial swelling through the formation of membrane pores, or they may increase the permeability of the mitochondrial membrane and cause apoptotic effectors to leak out.[13] There is also a growing body of evidence indicating that nitric oxide is able to induce apoptosis by helping to dissipate the membrane potential of mitochondria and therefore make it more permeable.[15]
Mitochondrial proteins known as SMACs (second mitochondria-derived activator of caspases) are released into the cytosol following an increase in permeability. SMAC binds to inhibitor of apoptosis proteins (IAPs) and deactivates them, preventing the IAPs from arresting the apoptotic process and therefore allowing apoptosis to proceed. IAP also normally suppresses the activity of a group of cysteine proteases called caspases,[18] which carry out the degradation of the cell, therefore the actual degradation enzymes can be seen to be indirectly regulated by mitochondrial permeability.
characteristic morphology:
1. Cell shrinkage and rounding are shown because of the breakdown of the proteinaceous cytoskeleton by caspases.
2. The cytoplasm appears dense, and the organelles appear tightly packed.
3. Chromatin undergoes condensation into compact patches against the nuclear envelope in a process known as pyknosis, a hallmark of apoptosis.[29][30]
4. The nuclear envelope becomes discontinuous and the DNA inside it is fragmented in a process referred to as karyorrhexis. The nucleus breaks into several discrete chromatin bodies or nucleosomal units due to the degradation of DNA.[31]
5. The cell membrane shows irregular buds known as blebs.
6. The cell breaks apart into several vesicles called apoptotic bodies, which are then phagocytosed.
Apoptosis progresses quickly and its products are quickly removed, making it difficult to detect or visualize. During karyorrhexis, endonuclease activation leaves short DNA fragments, regularly spaced in size. These give a characteristic "laddered" appearance on agar gel after electrophoresis. Tests for DNA laddering differentiate apoptosis from ischemic or toxic cell death.
Removal of dead cells
The removal of dead cells by neighboring phagocytic cells has been termed efferocytosis. Dying cells that undergo the final stages of apoptosis display phagocytotic molecules, such as phosphatidylserine, on their cell surface.[34] Phosphatidylserine is normally found on the cytosolic surface of the plasma membrane, but is redistributed during apoptosis to the extracellular surface by a hypothetical protein known as scramblase.These molecules mark the cell for phagocytosis by cells possessing the appropriate receptors, such as macrophages.[36] Upon recognition, the phagocyte reorganizes its cytoskeleton for engulfment of the cell. The removal of dying cells by phagocytes occurs in an orderly manner without eliciting an inflammatory response
No comments:
Post a Comment