Too much death can kill you: inhibiting intrinsic apoptosis to treat disease.

ABSTRACT: Apoptotic cell death is implicated in both physiological and pathological processes. Since many types of cancerous cells intrinsically evade apoptotic elimination, induction of apoptosis has become an attractive and often necessary cancer therapeutic approach. Conversely, some cells are extremely sensitive to apoptotic stimuli leading to neurodegenerative disease and immune pathologies. However, due to several challenges, pharmacological inhibition of apoptosis is still only a recently emerging strategy to combat pathological cell loss. Here, we describe several key steps in the intrinsic (mitochondrial) apoptosis pathway that represent potential targets for inhibitors in disease contexts. We also discuss the mechanisms of action, advantages and limitations of small-molecule and peptide-ba

SUBMITTER: Li K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8280825 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature