SIRT6 overexpression induces massive apoptosis in cancer cells but not in normal cells

Michael Van Meter1, Zhiyong Mao, Vera Gorbunova

  • 1University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA.

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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.
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