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Updated: Aug 7, 2026

In Vivo Biosensor Tracks Non-apoptotic Caspase Activity in Drosophila
Published on: November 27, 2016
Divergence from a dedicated cellular suicide mechanism: exploring the evolution of cell death
1Department of Cell Biology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA. jyuan@hms.harvard.edu
Abstract:
The developmental cell death in the nematode C. elegans is controlled by a simple and dedicated genetic program. This genetic program is evolutionarily conserved in higher organisms, including mammals. However, although mammalian homologs of C. elegans cell death gene products continue to regulate apoptosis, they are no longer dedicated regulators of cell death. On the other hand, multiple cellular noncell death-related mechanisms have been recruited to regulate cell death under different conditions. Such evidence suggests that evolution has led to an extensive integration of mammalian apoptosis machinery with multiple cellular physiological processes.
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