Live and Let Die — In a recent issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Dr. Richard Kitsis demonstrated that the two kinds of cell death – apoptosis, a process by which cells are intentionally deleted and promptly cleaned up, and necrosis, wherein dying cells and their deteriorating contents leak out and cause bystander damage – may actually share a “unified death machinery,” despite being markedly different processes. Dr. Kitsis’ laboratory genetically manipulated the Bax protein to show that in addition to its appreciated role in apoptosis, Bax also is a key regulator of necrosis. These insights lead the way to a better understanding of complex pathological processes such as heart attacks and strokes that involve both forms of a cell death. They also suggest potential new therapeutic strategies for cancer, where augmented tumor cell death is the goal. Dr. Kitsis is professor of medicine and of cell biology, director of Einstein’s Wilf Family Cardiovascular Research Institute, and holds the Dr. Gerald and Myra Dorros Chair in Cardiovascular Disease.
Posted on: Friday, April 20, 2012