There’s No Wrong Way for a Cell to Die: Caspase-Independent Programmed Cell Death Pathways Resulting in Apoptotic Characteristics

Authors

Katalyn Pickett, Brigham Young University
Dr. John D. Bell, Brigham Young University

Keywords

caspase-independent, cell death pathways, apoptotic characteristics

College

Life Sciences

Department

Physiology and Developmental Biology

Abstract

There are a number of ways that cells can die. One way is through apoptosis, also known as programmed cell death. This death pathway is characterized by orderly signals and mechanisms that essentially tell the cell to die without “making a mess”. Necrosis, another form of cell death, can be thought of as cell “homicide”; cells, generally in response to some environmental stress, are simply unable to survive and therefore die quickly and seemingly without regulation. Previously, the line between apoptosis and necrosis was thought to be distinct, but recent studies have shown that there are cell death pathways that share characteristics of both necrosis and apoptosis, and one of these, termed “necroptosis” (Degterev et al.), was of particular interest to me.

Recommended Citation

Pickett, Katalyn and Bell, Dr. John D. (2013) "There’s No Wrong Way for a Cell to Die: Caspase-Independent Programmed Cell Death Pathways Resulting in Apoptotic Characteristics," Journal of Undergraduate Research: Vol. 2013: Iss. 1, Article 1502.
Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/jur/vol2013/iss1/1502