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pubmed:abstractText |
Apoptosis, a cell death programme mediated by the caspase family of cysteine proteases, is essential for appropriate removal of excess cells in many developmental and physiological settings. It would, however, be very dangerous for the organism to depend on a single protease family for clearance of unwanted and potentially dangerous cells. Indeed, the exclusive role of caspases in the execution of programmed cell death (PCD) has been challenged recently, and the understanding of the molecular control of alternative death pathways is emerging. Here, I review recently discovered triggers and molecular regulators of caspase-independent cell death programmes and discuss their potential as therapeutic targets for the treatment of cancer.
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pubmed:affiliation |
Apoptosis Laboratory, Institute of Cancer Biology, Danish Cancer Society, Strandhoulevarden 49, DK-2100 Copenhagen, Denmark. mhj@biobase.dk
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