A type of cell death in which a series of molecular steps in a cell leads to its death. This is the bodyâ€(tm)s normal way of getting rid of unneeded or abnormal cells. The process of programmed cell death may be blocked in cancer cells. Also called apoptosis.
Normal benign process of cell suicide, in which the cell shrinks, dissolves its contents, and activates phagocytosis by neighboring cells.
A form of cell death essential for development that is based on a mechanism that requires protein synthesis.
a type of cell death in which the cell uses specialized cellular machinery to kill itself; a cell suicide mechanism that enables metazoans to control cell number and eliminate cells that threaten the animal's survival
A normal series of events in a cell that leads to its death due to, for example, DNA damage.
So-called “apoptosis,” the body's normal method of disposing of damaged, unwanted, or unneeded cells. Apoptosis signifies a process in which certain signals lead cells to self-destruct. This is one way by which the organism protects itself against cells that have taken the first step in the transformation into cancer cells. Cancer cells, on the other hand, often carry mutations that make them resistant to this form of cell death.
Programmed cell death (PCD) is the deliberate suicide of an unwanted cell in a multicellular organism. In contrast to necrosis, which is a form of cell death that results from acute tissue injury and provokes an inflammatory response, PCD is carried out in a regulated process that generally confers advantages during an organism's life cycle. PCD serves fundamental functions during both plant and metazoa (multicellular animals) tissue development.