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Reversibility of apoptosis in cancer cells

H L Tang1, K L Yuen, H M Tang

  • 1Department of Biology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong SAR, China.

British Journal of Cancer
|December 18, 2008
PubMed

Insights

Cancer cells can reverse apoptosis, regaining normal function and proliferating after initial cell death signals. This finding reveals a potential cancer chemotherapy escape mechanism.

Area of Science:

  • Cell biology
  • Cancer research
  • Molecular oncology

Background:

  • Apoptosis, or programmed cell death, is a crucial biological process marked by specific cellular events like mitochondrial fragmentation and caspase activation.
  • These events are traditionally viewed as irreversible commitment to cell demise.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the potential for reversibility of apoptosis in cancer cells.
  • To determine if cancer cells can recover from apoptotic stimuli and resume proliferation.

Main Methods:

  • Induction of apoptosis in various cancer cell lines using different stimuli.
  • Observation and analysis of cellular morphology and proliferation after removal of apoptotic inducers.

Main Results:

  • Characterized apoptotic cancer cells demonstrated the ability to regain normal morphology and proliferate upon removal of apoptotic inducers.
  • Reversibility of apoptosis was observed across diverse cancer cell lines and in response to various apoptotic stimuli.

Conclusions:

  • Apoptosis initiation in cancer cells is not always a terminal event.
  • Cancer cells possess an unexpected escape mechanism from chemotherapy by reversing apoptosis, highlighting the need for novel therapeutic strategies.

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