M. Driscoll, CELL-DEATH IN C-ELEGANS - MOLECULAR INSIGHTS INTO MECHANISMS CONSERVED BETWEEN NEMATODES AND MAMMALS, Brain pathology, 6(4), 1996, pp. 411-425
As is the case for most metazoans, C. elegans cells have the potential
to undergo developmental cell death (programmed cell death) or a necr
otic-like death in response to cell injury. Analysis of mutations that
disrupt the reproducible pattern of cell death that occurs during C.
elegans development has defined a genetic pathway for programmed cell
death. This program involves the activities of certain genes, such as
ces-1 and the ces-2 bZIP transcription faster, which regulate the life
/death decision in specific subsets of cells, ced-9, a Bcl-2 family me
mber, acts globally to negatively regulate the activities of ced-4S (w
hich promotes cell death) and ced-4L, which promotes cell life. ced-3
encodes a member of the ICE cysteine protease family that is essential
for execution of all programmed cell deaths. Once cells die, corpses
are phagocytized and consumed in what appear to be at least two parall
el pathways that require the activities of ced-1, ced-6, ced-7 and ced
-2, ced-5, ced-10. Degradation of corpse DNA requires the product of t
he nuc-1 gene. Degenerative cell death, characterized by cell swelling
, can be induced by different cell injuries including that conferred b
y mutant degenerin ion channels (encoded by deg-1, mec-4, mec-10 and u
nc-8) and by expression of human beta-amyloid peptide. Remarkable para
llels between nematode and mammalian death programs have advanced unde
rstanding of human cell death mechanisms.