Apoptosis: An overview of programmed cell death

Abstract

Apoptosis is a type of controlled cell death that involves caspases proteases. Apoptosis is an essential homeostatic mechanism that is required during embryonic development and ageing. Its primary function is to manage the cell population, and it also plays an important role as a defence mechanism against immunological responses and the elimination of damaged cells. Various endogenous tissue-specific agents and exogenous cytotoxic agents trigger programmed cell death in certain cell types under key physiological conditions. By triggering a key intracellular mechanism of death protease known as caspases, two separate but related signalling pathways regulate apoptosis. Inappropriate apoptosis has been implicated in neurological disorders, ischemia-induced damage, autoimmune diseases, and several types of cancer. This review aims to provide a general summary of current information on the process of apoptosis.