Yb. Shi et al., REGULATION OF APOPTOSIS DURING DEVELOPMENT - INPUT FROM THE EXTRACELLULAR-MATRIX (REVIEW), INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR MEDICINE, 2(3), 1998, pp. 273-282
Programmed eel death or apoptosis is an important aspect in organogene
sis and tissue remodeling during development. Extensive investigations
have led to the identification of many genes that participate in the
regulation of cell death execution. These include the caspases and nuc
leases, which are involved in the degradation of cellular proteins and
nuclear DNA to initiate the irreversible death process. In addition,
several families of proteins like Bcl-2 superfamily can either prevent
or promote cell death. The function of these proteins are getting to
be understood. On the other hand, how these proteins are regulated rem
ains to be investigated. This is in part due to the presence of divers
e upstream signals that can influence cell fate. One such signal is th
e remodeling of the extracellular matrix (ECM), which is largely due t
o the action of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs). The regulation of MM
Ps and ECM remodeling has been shown to affect apoptosis in different
systems, including the apoptotic remodeling of the intestine during Xe
nopus laevis metamorphosis and post-lactation involution of the mouse
mammary gland. Current evidence suggests that ECM regulates cell fate
at least in part through its membrane receptors, the integrins, which
in turn send the signal through yet poorly understood pathways to the
nucleus to regulate gene expression.