Apoptosis and diseases: regulation and clinical relevance
Alenzi, F.Q.
Saudi Medical Journal 26(11): 1679-1690
2005
ISSN/ISBN: 0379-5284 PMID: 16311648 Document Number: 587874
It is increasingly clear that apoptosis plays a central role in the pathogenesis of several human diseases. For instance, an increase in apoptosis leads to cell loss accompanied by neurodegenerative diseases, whereas we know that genetically determined defects of apoptosis result in deregulated cell proliferation, typical of cancer. Hence, apoptosis may be relevant as therapeutic targets for many human diseases. This article reviews briefly the regulation and the clinical relevance of apoptotic mechanisms in several different human diseases.