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Cell death proteins: an evolutionary role in cellular adaptation before the advent of apoptosis

Sarah A Dick1, Lynn A Megeney

  • 1Sprott Center for Stem Cell Research, Regenerative Medicine Program, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, ON, Canada; Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada.

Bioessays : News and Reviews in Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology
|August 15, 2013
PubMed

Insights

Programmed cell death (PCD) proteins retain non-death functions across species. We hypothesize that apoptosis evolved from these core non-death cellular functions, not the other way around.

Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary biology
  • Cellular biology
  • Biochemistry

Background:

  • Programmed cell death (PCD), or apoptosis, is a conserved process in metazoans involving ordered cell dismantling.
  • PCD proteins and pathways, like caspases, have conserved non-death functions across diverse phyla.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the evolutionary origins of PCD proteins.
  • To test the hypothesis that apoptotic functions evolved from pre-existing non-death functions of PCD proteins.

Main Methods:

  • Comparative analysis of PCD protein functions across different species.
  • Bioinformatic analysis of conserved protein domains and pathways.
  • Literature review of existing studies on PCD and non-death protein functions.

Main Results:

  • PCD proteins exhibit conserved non-death roles predating their apoptotic functions.
  • Evidence suggests that non-death functions are evolutionarily older than death-inducing roles.
  • Caspace-mediated pathways show clear examples of co-option for non-death processes.

Conclusions:

  • The hypothesis that apoptotic behavior evolved from core non-death functions is supported.
  • Evolutionary trajectory of PCD proteins likely involved co-option of ancestral non-death functions.
  • Understanding these non-death roles is crucial for a complete picture of PCD evolution.
Keywords:
apoptosiscaspasedifferentiationmetacaspasemulticellularitynon-death

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