The concept of programmed cell death, or apoptosis, has exploded into a major scientific field of interest for cell biologists, oncologists, and many other biomedical researchers. Apoptosis occurs throughout the lifetime of most multicellular organisms. During development, for example, the selective death of cells is vital to remove tissue between the digits to produce fingers and toes. Apoptosis is also necessary to destroy cells that represent a threat to the integrity of the organism, for example cells infected by a virus. In many cancers the genes regulating apoptosis are defective, producing immortal, continuously proliferating cells. This book discusses the philosophical and technical difficulties in defining the moment of death for a cell, as well as the biological implications and significance of programmed cell death. Recent developments in the genetic control and interacting gene networks associated with apoptosis are presented. The book is written for advanced undergraduate and postgraduate students, and is highly illustrated to aid understanding.

A million cells in our bodies die every second--they commit suicide by activating a process called apoptosis or other forms of programmed cell death. These mechanisms are essential for survival of the body as a whole and play critical roles in various developmental processes, the immune system, and cancer. In this second edition of Douglas Green's essential book on cell death, Green retains the bottom-up approach of the first edition, starting with the enzymes that carry out the execution (caspases) and their cellular targets before examining the machinery that connects them to signals that cause cell death. He also describes the roles of cell death in development, neuronal selection, and the development of self-tolerance in the immune system, as well as how the body uses cell death to defend against cancer. The new edition is fully updated to cover the many recent advances in our understanding of the death machinery and signals that control cell death. These include the mechanisms regulating necroptosis, mitophagy, and newly identified processes, such as ferroptosis. The book will thus be of great interest to researchers actively working in the field, as well as biologists and undergraduates encountering the topic for the first time.

The Janeway's Immunobiology CD-ROM, Immunobiology Interactive, is included with each book, and can be purchased separately. It contains animations and videos with voiceover narration, as well as the figures from the text for presentation purposes.

This book discusses properties of apoptosis and other cell death modalities in cancer pathogenesis and treatment. Its nine chapters discuss modulation of anti-tumor inflammatory and immune responses, effects on the tumor microenvironment, to strategies for improving pro-apoptotic therapies, mechanisms and implications for disease pathogenesis, axl and mer receptor tyrosine kinases, immunogenic apoptotic cell death and anti-cancer immunity and cancer cell death-inducing radiotherapy. This book places the onco-biology of apoptosis in clear and objective perspective through an expertly synthesized series of reviews. Apoptosis in Cancer Pathogenesis and Anti-cancer Therapy is a deft and thorough exploration of cutting-edge research in apoptosis and anti-cancer mechanisms from basic biology to oncology. It highlights a rapidly growing field within cancer research and is essential reading for oncologists, biochemists and advanced graduate students alike.

In any movement of their life, immune cells, especially T and B lymphocytes, are confronted with an essential choice: to continue their existence or to commit a sort of metabolic suicide that is referred to as apoptosis or programmed cell death. In contrast to most philosophers, lymphocytes and their precursors are constantly susceptible to suicide, and it even appears that the usual cause of T or B cell elimination is suicide rather than death from natural causes, accidents or murder. This book provides a vast overview of lymphocytes suicide: external triggers and internal motives leading to suicidal impulses, accomplices in self-destruction, weapons implicated in self-execution, removal of dead bodies and pharmacological prevention of suicide. Most of the chapters in this book are devoted to the physiology of apoptosis. The goal is to unmask the external triggers of apoptosis, unravel the signal transduction pro cesses involved therein and describe the role of oncogenes, "death genes" and effector molecules in the apoptotic cas cade. The remaining chapters deal with the pathophysiologi cal aspects of lymphocyte apoptosis, namely, as a host contribution to HIV-induced lymphopenia, and therapeutic strategies for the avoidance of lymphocyte death. We are confident that this compendium will contribute to the exploration of cellular suicide, not only from a basic scientist's viewpoint but also with regard to the possible clinical implications of apoptosis (dys)regulation. Far from having a depressing effect on the reader, cellular suicide may thus provide a source of both intellectual excitement and therapeutic inspiration.

Apoptosis, or cell death, can be pathological, a sign of disease and damage, or physiological, a process essential for normal health. This book, with contributions from experts in the field, provides a timely compilation of reviews of mechanisms of apoptosis. The book is organized into three convenient sections. The first section explores the different processes of cell death and how they relate to one another. The second section focuses on organ-specific apoptosis-related diseases. The third section explores cell death in non-mammalian organisms, such as plants. This comprehensive text is a must-read for all researchers and scholars interested in apoptosis.

One million cells in our bodies die every secondthey commit suicide by a mechanism known as apoptosis. Apoptosis is essential for survival of the body as a whole and has critical roles in various developmental processes and the immune system. In Means To An End, Douglas Green provides a clear and comprehensive view of apoptosis and other cell death mechanisms. Taking a bottom-up approach, he starts with the enzymes that perform the execution process (a family of proteases termed caspases) and examines their cellular targets and the ways in which they are activated. He then looks at the molecular machinery that links signals that cause cell death to caspases, emphasizing the importance of the BCL-2 family of proteins and the role of cytochrome c released from mitochondria. The final stage of the process, phagocytic removal of dead or dying cells, is also covered. Green outlines the roles of apoptosis and death mechanisms such as necrosis in embryogenesis, neuronal selection, and the development of self-tolerance in the immune system. In addition, he explains how cell death defends the body against cancer and traces the evolutionary origins of the apoptosis machinery back over a billion years. The book is thus of great use to all biologists interested in how cells function in the context of multicellular organisms and will appeal to everyone from undergraduates encountering the topic for the first time to researchers actively working in the field.