Programmed cell death

Programmed cell death is a genetically regulated process in which a cell activates pathways that dismantle or disable it. It supports development, tissue maintenance, and defense.

Pyroptosis: An inflammatory form of cell death involving gasdermin pores and often caspase activation. Immune cells use it to destroy infected cells while releasing inflammatory signals.
BCL-2 family: A protein family that regulates mitochondrial membrane permeabilization and intrinsic apoptosis. Its opposing members set a key threshold for whether a cell commits to apoptosis.
Embryonic development: The process by which an embryo forms and organizes its tissues and organs. Programmed death sculpts structures such as digits by removing cells between developing tissues.
Necrosis: A form of cell death characterized by loss of membrane integrity and cellular breakdown, often following severe injury. Traditional descriptions contrast uncontrolled necrosis with organized death, though regulated necrotic pathways blur the boundary.
John Kerr: A Scottish pathologist who helped characterize apoptosis as a distinct form of cell death. His work with Andrew Wyllie and Alastair Currie helped establish apoptosis as an organized process.
Ferroptosis: A regulated cell-death process driven by iron-dependent lipid peroxidation. It illustrates a death mechanism based on membrane damage rather than caspase-driven dismantling.
Mitochondrial outer membrane permeabilization: The formation of pores in the mitochondrial outer membrane that releases proteins into the cytosol. This event links BCL-2 family activity to the caspase cascade in intrinsic apoptosis.
Immune system: The cells, tissues, and molecules that protect an organism against infection and other threats. Immune responses use programmed death to remove infected cells and terminate excess lymphocytes.
Cellular senescence: A stable state in which a cell stops dividing while remaining metabolically active. Senescent cells persist rather than die, despite sharing stress signals and tumor-suppressive roles with death programs.
Andrew Wyllie: A Scottish pathologist known for research that helped define apoptosis and its role in disease. He co-authored the influential 1972 paper that named and described apoptosis.

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