A new player in apoptosis triggered with anticancer drugs: the volume-sensitive outwardly-rectifying Cl(-) channel.

摘要

Apoptosis, also called programmed cell death, is an essential process to maintain tissue homeostasis. This type of cell death generally occurs in tissue development and somatic cell turnover. In almost all adult tissues, for example, cell death balances cell proliferation. Such a cell death programmed to kill old or unused cells is considered to be apoptosis, which is morphologically and biochemically characterized by cell shrinkage, caspase activation, nuclear fragmentation and formation of apoptotic bodies. In tumorigenesis, on the other hand, the balance between apoptosis and cell proliferation is disrupted. In other words, because tumor cells fail to undergo apoptosis but continue to proliferate, tumors develop.