Apoptosis Essay

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A. The process of apoptosis is a cascade of biochemical events comprising 4 phases: (1) signaling, (2) control and regulation, (3) execution, and (4) removal of the dead cell (Bennetts & Pierce, 2010). During the signaling phase, the activation of apoptotic pathways are triggered via a variety of stimuli. For example, these stimuli may include: glucocorticoids, toxins, nitric oxide, nutrient deprivation, viral infection, hypoxia, ligand receptor activation, ionizing irradiation, or attack by cytotoxic lymphocytes (Bennetts & Pierce, 2010). As a result, sequences leading to cell death occurs by the activation of death receptors. The activation of Fas receptors leads to the formation of Fas-associated death domain (FADD). Furthermore, the activation of TNF receptors yields TNF receptor-associated death domain (TRADD). It is the domain molecule that causes the caspase activation that leads to apoptosis. During the control and regulation phase, the cell will either continue in the apoptotic cycle or mechanisms will be initiated to abort apoptosis. The two genes that act as important regu...

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