The role of apoptosis in the pathogenesis and treatment of diseases

In adult multicellular organisms, homeostasis is determined in each cell lineage by a balance between cell death and cell growth. Dysregulation of cell death mechanisms is involved in the pathogenesis of an increasing number of diseases. Defective apoptosis can participate in malignant transformation, viral latency and autoimmune diseases. Excessive apoptotic cell death is involved in CD4+ T-cell depletion observed in acquired immune deficiency syndrome, in fulminant hepatitis associated with infection by hepatitis B and C viruses, in some neurodegenerative disorders and haematological diseases, in polycystic kidney disease and ischaemia. Three steps can be distinguished in the pathway that leads to cell death. The first step involves interactions between the extracellular and intracellular signals that decide whether a cell should live or die. When death is chosen, a common pathway that involves at least the Bcl-2- family of proteins and the interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta)-converting enzyme-related cysteine proteases confirms whether or not the cell should die. Finally, if death is allowed to occur, the apoptotic process itself is characterized by deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) fragmentation, proteolysis and morphological changes that precede the engulfment of apoptotic cells by neighbouring cells and phagocytes. Several inducers and inhibitors of apoptosis acting on one or several of these three steps that characterize the apoptotic process have been identified in vitro. Their potential usefulness in improving the current therapeutic strategies and designing new strategies in several different diseases is discussed.