Decisive steps in the initiation of programmed cell death revealed
When cells age or suffer damage, they are able to actively bring about their own pre-programmed death – a "suicide" process known as apoptosis. A desensitization of this process determines the change from a normal cell into a cancer cell. On the other hand, an over-functioning of apoptosis is associated to the onset of neurodegenerative diseases. Therefore a better understanding of the underlying mechanisms is extremely important. The protein Bax is known as a key regulator of apoptosis. Researchers headed by Professor Ana García-Sáez of the University of Tübingen and Professor Joachim Spatz of the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems in Stuttgart have investigated the role of Bax proteins, finding more detailed information as to how they work. The findings are published in the latest Nature Communications.