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Strategies for Tracking Anastasis, A Cell Survival Phenomenon that Reverses Apoptosis
12:55

Strategies for Tracking Anastasis, A Cell Survival Phenomenon that Reverses Apoptosis

Published on: February 16, 2015

Early stages of p53-induced apoptosis are reversible

F J Geske1, R Lieberman, R Strange

  • 1Department of Pathology, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Denver 80262, USA.

Cell Death and Differentiation
|April 21, 2001
PubMed

Insights

Early apoptotic cells induced by p53 are reversible. DNA repair mechanisms are active in early apoptosis and can modulate cell death, suggesting potential for rescue from programmed cell death.

Area of Science:

  • Cell Biology
  • Molecular Biology
  • Biochemistry

Background:

  • Apoptosis is programmed cell death crucial for development and tissue homeostasis.
  • Apoptotic cells exhibit characteristic membrane changes, protein degradation, and DNA fragmentation.
  • The reversibility of apoptosis, particularly p53-induced apoptosis, remains an area of investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the reversibility of p53-induced apoptosis.
  • To determine the role of DNA repair in the modulation of p53-induced apoptosis.

Main Methods:

  • Assessing phosphatidylserine (PS) externalization as an early marker of apoptosis.
  • Evaluating cell proliferation following removal of the apoptotic stimulus.
  • Measuring unscheduled DNA synthesis in apoptotic cells.
  • Inhibiting DNA repair with aphidicolin to observe its effect on apoptosis.

Main Results:

  • p53 activation leads to early phosphatidylserine (PS) externalization.
  • Cells with externalized PS can be rescued and proliferate if the apoptotic stimulus is removed.
  • Unscheduled DNA synthesis occurs in early apoptotic cells.
  • Inhibition of DNA repair by aphidicolin accelerates apoptosis.

Conclusions:

  • Early p53-induced apoptotic cells are potentially reversible.
  • DNA repair mechanisms are active in early apoptosis and can influence the cell death pathway.
  • These findings suggest that DNA repair plays a modulatory role in programmed cell death.

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