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apoptosis |
Also found in: Dictionary/thesaurus, Medical, Legal, Acronyms, Wikipedia, Hutchinson | 0.06 sec. |
apoptosisor programmed cell deathMechanism that allows cells to self-destruct when stimulated by the appropriate trigger. It may be initiated when a cell is no longer needed, when a cell becomes a threat to the organism's health, or for other reasons. The aberrant inhibition or initiation of apoptosis contributes to many disease processes, including cancer. Though embryologists had long been familiar with the process of programmed cell death, not until 1972 was the mechanism's broader significance recognized. Apoptosis is distinguished from necrosis, a form of cell death that results from injury. |
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| Some labile cell types whose numbers are normally controlled through programmed cell death are subject to markedly increased destruction during some severe infections. Petros suspects that the mitochondrial proteins encoded by these variant genes somehow thwart programmed cell death, a cancer-suppressing mechanism. One other article that caught my attention discussed the cell death theory of neuro-degenerative disorders (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Huntington disease, and Alzheimer disease) in a review of the literature on programmed cell death. |
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