Apoptosis: (1). Overview and clinical significance

Cell division and cell death are the ultimate differential decisions made by the cell. Apoptosis is the most prevalent type of cell death. The machinery for apoptosis in all cell types is genetically encoded and readily expressed. All multicellular organisms employ apoptosis to achieve developmental plasticity and homeostasis, to select the fittest cells, to sculpt the body shape, and to defend themselves against invading viruses and their own deleterious cells. In this article, which is part of two related reviews, the historic identification of apoptosis and some key discoveries of the mechanistic components of the apoptotic process are reviewed, followed by discussions of the physiology, pathology, and clinical significance of apoptosis.