Apoptosis is a cellular process that is critical to tissue homeostasis^1-3

A regulated form of programmed cell death, apoptosis eliminates unnecessary or unhealthy cells from the body and maintains physiological equilibrium²

Apoptosis can be initiated by one of two separate pathways^1,2:

• Intrinsic: (inside the cell) in response to cellular stress, such as DNA damage and oncogenic factors
• Extrinsic: (outside the cell) due to the binding of ligands, such as inflammatory cytokines, to cell surface death receptors

BCL-2=B-cell lymphoma 2; DNA=deoxyribonucleic acid.

References: 1. Adams JM, Cory S. The Bcl-2 apoptotic switch in cancer development and therapy. Oncogene. 2007;26(9):1324-1337. 2. Plati J, Bucur O, Khosravi-Far R. Apoptotic cell signaling in cancer progression and therapy. Integr Biol (Camb). 2011;3(4):279-296. 3. Czabotar PE, Lessene G, Strasser A, Adams JM. Control of apoptosis by the BCL-2 protein family: implications for physiology and therapy. Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol. 2014;15(1):49-63.