Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Cellular Injury V: Apoptosis and Autophagy

Cellular Injury V: Apoptosis and Autophagy

Cells respond to damage and stress through highly coordinated processes that decide whether they survive or undergo controlled self-destruction. Two major pathways involved in this regulation are apoptosis, a type of programmed cell death, and autophagy, a survival mechanism that helps cells adapt to adverse conditions.ApoptosisApoptosis removes aged or injured cells to maintain tissue balance. During this process, the cell shrinks, chromatin condenses and fragments, and membrane-bound...

Apoptosis

Apoptosis

Apoptosis is a combination of two Greek words, 'apo' and 'ptosis,' meaning separation and falling off, respectively. Hippocrates used this word to describe gangrene, which was caused due to bandaging of fractured bones. Apoptosis was distinguished from necrosis in 1970 when John Kerr reported observations of morphological changes occurring during apoptosis. During one experiment, he observed that the disruption of blood supply to the liver tissue resulted in a size reduction of the tissue.

The Intrinsic Apoptotic Pathway

The Intrinsic Apoptotic Pathway

Internal cellular stress, such as cellular injury or hypoxia, triggers intrinsic apoptosis. The B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2) family of proteins are the primary regulators of the intrinsic apoptotic pathway. For example, during DNA damage, checkpoint proteins, such as Ataxia Telangiectasia Mutated (ATM protein) and Checkpoints Factor-2 (Chk2) proteins, are activated. These proteins phosphorylate p53 which further activates pro-apoptotic proteins, such as Bax, Bak, PUMA, and Noxa, and inhibits...

The Extrinsic Apoptotic Pathway

The Extrinsic Apoptotic Pathway

The extrinsic apoptotic pathway is initiated when extracellular death-inducing signals, such as specific cytokines, activate the death receptors expressed on the cell surface. The immune cells involved in this pathway are natural killer cells (NK cells) and cytotoxic T-lymphocytes. NK cells are critical in innate immune response, while cytotoxic T-lymphocytes are associated with adaptive immune response. These cells recognize specific receptors expressed on the altered cells and activate...

Autophagic Cell Death

Autophagic Cell Death

Christian de Duve discovered “autophagy,” a process in which cellular components are engulfed by membrane-bound organelles called autophagosomes. The autophagosomes then fuse with lysosomes to digest the enclosed contents. Autophagy is generally activated in cells to prevent cell death. However, cell death is triggered when the damage is beyond repair.
Autophagy and Apoptosis
Autophagy can activate apoptosis. In normal conditions, the autophagy activating protein Beclin-1 and pro-apoptotic...

Overview of Cell Death

Overview of Cell Death

Cell death is an essential process where the body gets rid of old or damaged cells. Cell proliferation and death need to be balanced, as an imbalance between the two may lead to cancer or autoimmune diseases.
Cell death was observed in the early 19th century, but there was no experimental evidence to prove it. In 1842, Carl Vogt first discovered cell death in a metamorphic toad; however, it was not termed ‘cell death.’ Scientists discovered different cell death pathways only in the 20th century...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Corrigendum: Down-regulation of microRNA-155 suppressed Candida albicans induced acute lung injury by activating SOCS1 and inhibiting inflammation response.

Journal of microbiology (Seoul, Korea)·2026

Same author

Clinodiside A, an active metabolite in Clinopodii herba, alleviates dextran-sulfate-sodium-induced ulcerative colitis.

Frontiers in pharmacology·2026

Same author

Impact of chronic comorbidities on psychological and social status in COVID-19 patients.

Frontiers in psychology·2026

Same author

CitNAC71-CitNAC76 coordinate cellulose and hemicellulose biosynthesis to regulate high-temperature-mediated granulation in citrus.

The Plant cell·2026

Same author

[Combined assessment of gastric mucosal damage associated with <i>Helicobacter pylori</i> infection in children by virulence factors and pepsinogen].

Zhongguo dang dai er ke za zhi = Chinese journal of contemporary pediatrics·2026

Same author

HDA6 represses the histone acetylation modification and expression of WRKY18/40 to inhibit camalexin biosynthesis in Arabidopsis.

Plant cell reports·2026

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 20, 2026

Activation of Apoptosis by Cytoplasmic Microinjection of Cytochrome c

Activation of Apoptosis by Cytoplasmic Microinjection of Cytochrome c

Published on: June 29, 2011

Coupling cellular mitogenesis to apoptosis by designed biomolecules.

Qiong Lin¹, Fengchang Zhu, Wannian Yang

¹Weis Center for Research, Geisinger Clinic, Danville, PA 17822, United States.

Cellular Signalling

|September 17, 2009

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Researchers engineered a molecular device (MCAMD) to link cancer cell growth signals directly to cell death pathways. This novel approach shows promise for developing new cancer gene therapies by targeting constitutively active mitogenesis.

More Related Videos

Identification of Intracellular Signaling Events Induced in Viable Cells by Interaction with Neighboring Cells Undergoing Apoptotic Cell Death

Identification of Intracellular Signaling Events Induced in Viable Cells by Interaction with Neighboring Cells Undergoing Apoptotic Cell Death

Published on: December 27, 2016

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

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

Published on: February 16, 2015

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 20, 2026

Activation of Apoptosis by Cytoplasmic Microinjection of Cytochrome c

Activation of Apoptosis by Cytoplasmic Microinjection of Cytochrome c

Published on: June 29, 2011

Identification of Intracellular Signaling Events Induced in Viable Cells by Interaction with Neighboring Cells Undergoing Apoptotic Cell Death

Identification of Intracellular Signaling Events Induced in Viable Cells by Interaction with Neighboring Cells Undergoing Apoptotic Cell Death

Published on: December 27, 2016

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

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

Published on: February 16, 2015

Area of Science:

Molecular Biology
Cell Signaling
Biotechnology

Background:

Cellular signal transduction pathways are crucial for regulating cell responses to external stimuli.
Aberrant signaling, particularly constitutive mitogenesis in cancer, drives uncontrolled cell proliferation.
Targeting these pathways offers potential therapeutic strategies for cancer treatment.

Purpose of the Study:

To engineer a novel molecular system that couples mitogenic (growth-promoting) signals to apoptotic (programmed cell death) outputs.
To investigate the feasibility of manipulating cellular signaling to induce cancer cell death.

Main Methods:

Reconstruction of key components from both mitogenic (Ras, Raf) and apoptotic (caspase-3) signaling pathways.
Integration of these components to create a synthetic biological circuit.

Main Results:

Successfully engineered a molecular device, termed "mitogenesis coupled-apoptosis molecular device" (MCAMD).
Demonstrated the ability of MCAMD to couple mitogenic signal input to apoptotic output in cells.
MCAMD effectively links growth signals to cell death machinery.

Conclusions:

MCAMD represents a novel biomolecular tool for redirecting cellular signaling.
The constitutive activation of mitogenesis in cancer cells makes MCAMD a potential candidate for cancer gene therapy applications.
This synthetic biology approach offers a new avenue for cancer treatment development.