Apoptotic signal transduction pathways

Saitoh T, Nakajima T, Takahashi T, Kawahara K. Changes in cardiovascular function on treatment of inhibitors of apoptotic signal transduction pathway in left ventricular remodeling after myocardial infarction. Cardiovasc Pathol 2006 15 130-138. 

A unifying feature of all pro-apoptotic signal transduction pathways is their ability to relay a death stimulus to the caspases, enzymes responsible for the execution phase of apoptosis37. As noted previously, however, a caspase-independent mechanism of apoptosis has recently been proposed23. 

In the preceding sections, we have described the major models used to study developmental cell death. We will now discuss the cell death pathways implicated by these models, which lead to apoptosis. For convenience, apoptosis may be subdivided into the initial signalling events, the apoptotic signal transduction pathways and the terminal events involved in the observed phenotypic changes. 

Given the special nature of development, it is sometimes difficult to make predictions about which exposures might pose the greatest risks to children. However, those agents that influence key signal transduction pathways, modify cell proliferation or cell differentiation rates, activate apoptotic pathways, or react with DNA seem to present the most concern. 

The apoptotic machinery is controlled, like the cell cyde, by internal and external signals. External signals are received by receptors. The receptors that trigger apoptosis are called death receptors. Alfhou they may participate in other cellular signal transduction pathways, when they interact with death ligands they activate death effectors. The effectors are the caspases, a family of C5 teine proteases which eventually destroy the cell. 

Apoptosis is a complex biological process, which is regulated by several cell signal transduction pathways. The study of apoptosis involves the measurement of biological and morphological hallmarks at a variety of stages in the apoptotic cascade. Apoptotic assays in microfluidics can be classified into five themes ... 

Cell Survival and Proliferation Signaling Pathways Active in Cancer and Their Role in Tumor Growth 25 Abl Pathway 25 BCR-ABL Chimeric Oncoprotein and Its Oncogenic Effects 26 Major Signal Transduction Pathways Activated by ABL/BCR-ABL 28 PI3-K/Akt Pathway 28 Anti-Apoptotic Actions ofAKT 29... 

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