Mechanisms of Cell Death and Opportunities for Therapeutic Development, volume four in the Perspectives in Translational Cell Biology series, offers content for professors, students and researchers across basic and translational biology. The book covers fundamental mechanisms, ranging from different forms of cell death and drug development, to efforts for treating disease, providing a valuable resource for readers interested in understanding cell death and relevant translational research. The book's editor, Diaqing Liao, has over twenty years' experience teaching topics of cell death. - Provides a comprehensive overview of current knowledge on the process of apoptosis, its potential role in health and disease, and a discussion of potential alternative forms, such as autophagy - Covers fundamental mechanisms and relevant translational research

Contains papers from a July 1998 conference held at the Queens College Campus of the City University of New York. Papers are arranged in sections on mechanisms and general considerations, programmed (developmental) cell death, and cell death and pathological and clinical situations. Specific topics

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.

This book is devoted to innovative medicine, comprising the proceedings of the Uehara Memorial Foundation Symposium 2014. It remains extremely rare for the findings of basic research to be developed into clinical applications, and it takes a long time for the process to be achieved. The task of advancing the development of basic research into clinical reality lies with translational science, yet the field seems to struggle to find a way to move forward. To create innovative medical technology, many steps need to be taken: development and analysis of optimal animal models of human diseases, elucidation of genomic and epidemiological data, and establishment of “proof of concept”. There is also considerable demand for progress in drug research, new surgical procedures, and new clinical devices and equipment. While the original research target may be rare diseases, it is also important to apply those findings more broadly to common diseases. The book covers a wide range of topics and is organized into three complementary parts. The first part is basic research for innovative medicine, the second is translational research for innovative medicine, and the third is new technology for innovative medicine. This book helps to understand innovative medicine and to make progress in its realization.

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.

Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS), Nanoparticles, and Endoplasmic Reticulum (ER) Stress-Induced Cell Death Mechanisms presents the role of ROS?mediated pathways cellular signaling stress, endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, oxidative stress, oxidative damage, nanomaterials, and the mechanisms by which metalloids and nanoparticles induce their toxic effects. The book covers the ecotoxicology of environmental heavy metal ions and free radicals on macromolecules cells organisms, heavy metals?induced cell responses, oxidative stress, the source of oxidants, and the roles of ROS, oxidative stress and oxidative damage mechanisms. It also examines the nanotoxicity, cytotoxicity and genotoxicity mechanisms of nanomaterials and the effects of nanoparticle interactions. Antioxidant defense therapy and strategies for treatment round out the book, making it an ideal resource for researchers and professional scientists in toxicology, environmental chemistry, environmental science, nanomaterials and the pharmaceutical sciences. - Covers the ecotoxicology of environmental heavy metal ions and the interactions between specific heavy metals?induced cell responses and oxidative stress - Provides a better understanding of the mechanism of nanomaterial-induced toxicity as a first defense for hazard prevention - Covers recent advances in new nanomedication technologies for the effects of NPs on oxidative stress, ROS and ER stress - Discusses the effects of interactions between antioxidant defense therapy, ROS and strategies for treatment