6: Apoptosis Flashcards
What are the resons why apoptosis takes place?
- Harmful cells (e.g. cells with viral infection, DNA damage).
- Developmentally defective cells (e.g. B lymphocytes expressing antibodies against self antigens).
- Excess / unnecessary cells (embryonic development: brain to eliminate excess neurons; liver regeneration; sculpting of digits and organs).
- Obsolete cells (e.g. mammary epithelium at the end of lactation)
–> Can be Exploited therapeutically - Chemotherapeutic killing of cells
What are the characteristics of necrosisi?
- unregulated cell death
- normally due to trauma
- there is cellular disruption
- associated with inflammation (due to release of intracellular contents)
What are the characteristics of apoptosis?
- programmed, regulated cell death
- controlled dissembly of contents without membrane disruption
- no inflammation
- ATP dependant
How many different types of cell death are ther?
Many many types of cell death, ranging from Necrosis on the one end to Apoptosis on the other hand –> many are in the middle and have characteristics of both
Explain the process of necrosis
- Plasma membrane becomes permeable
- Cell swelling and rupture of cellular membranes
- Release of proteases and intracellular contents leading to autodigestion and dissolution of the cell
- Localised inflammation
What are the two phases of Apoptosis?
What are theri characteristics?
- Latent phase
- apoptosis pahtways activated but no morphological change in cell
- Execution phase
- morphologican changes and destruction of cell
What happens in the latent phaese of apoptosis?
death pathways are activated, but cells appear morphologically the same
Explain the processes that take place during the execution phase of apoptosis?
Example of epithelial cells
- loss of microvilli and intracellular junctions
- cell shrink
- loss of plasma membrane assymetry (important in normal function, can be seen e.g. by phosphatidylserine lipid appearing on surface)
- Chromatin and nuclear condensation
- DNA fragmentation
- Formation of memrane bleps
- Fragmentation into membrane-enclosed bodies (get phagocytosed by macrophages etc)
- no release of cell contents
What happens to the DNA during apoptosis?
•Chromatin and nuclear condensation
• DNA fragmentation
Explain the characteristics of Apoptosis-like PCD (programmed cell death)
some, but not all, features of apoptosis. E.g. Display of phagocytic recognition molecules before plasma membrane lysis
Explain the characteristics of Necrosis-like programmed cell death (PCD)
Variable features of apoptosis and necrosis before cell lysis present; “Aborted apoptosis”
Which proteins mainly execute Apoptosis?
Cysteine-dependent aspartate-directed proteases (Caspases)
Summarise the role and activation of caspases (briefly!)
Are the executers of apoptosis
- Get activated by cleavage (proteolysis) by another protease
- Set of a cascade of other activators
What two types of caspades are there?
What is their characteristic and function?
There are two types
- Initiator caspases
- get activated directly by intrinsic/extrinsic pathways
- Effector caspases
- get activated by initiator caspases, set off futher routes
What are the protien domains that all caspases have in common?
What are the additional domapins the different initiator capsades have?
What is their function?
All have in common: p20 and p10 domain
- Caspase 9+2 also have a CARD domain (caspase recruitement domain –> will localise the caspases at specific sites in the cell)
- Caspase 10+8 also have a DED domain (Ceath effector domain) –> binds to adaptor protein and involved in activation of the capsase
What is meant by the term of caspase maturation?
Explain the process
It is the activation of a procaspase to the active form
- Pro-domain and SS domain of caspase are cleaved (proteolysis)
- Dimer formation of one Large (L) and one small(2 chain)
- 2 dimers come together to form the active heterotetramer, consisting of 2L2S
What are the main functions of activatio of the caspase cascade?
- amplification of the apoptotic signal
- divergent responses –> spread responses
- regulation
What are the different concepts by which the effector caspases can execute the apoptotic program?
(what do they do to proteins?)
- Inactivate by proteolysis (cleavage of proteins)
- single proteins
- protein complexes
- Activate enzymes by cleavage
- direct activation
- indirect by destruction of inhibitory molecules
Name an example of how caspase induced inactivation of an enzyme/protein can lead to apoptosis
E.g. Inactivation of nuclear lamins leading to nuclear breakdown