Library · Cellular process
Apoptosis
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Apoptosis is a form of programmed cell death: the cell doesn't fall apart by accident, it follows a regulated procedure already written into it. The ones running the show are the caspases, enzymes that belong to the protease group, and protease means their job is cutting proteins. By cutting proteins in a certain order, these enzymes walk the process through step by step inside the cell.
The detail that defines apoptosis is that the plasma membrane, the wrapper that marks where the cell ends, stays intact while all of this is going on. Intact means that this physical boundary keeps doing its job of enclosing the cell until the very end. It's the difference between taking a house apart piece by piece with the fence still standing and having the fence come down.
In brief
Apoptosis is a regulated form of programmed cell death mediated by proteases called caspases. A protease is an enzyme that cuts proteins, and caspases use that activity to drive the process forward inside the cell.
Throughout apoptosis, the plasma membrane remains intact. In this context, intact means that the membrane keeps enclosing the cell while the regulated process unfolds.
Sources (2)
- NCBI BookshelfProgrammed Cell Death (Apoptosis)Published
- StatPearls, NCBI BookshelfApoptosis and Cell Death: Signaling in Health and DiseasesPublished
This page explains the topic in general terms; it does not tell anyone what treatment to follow.
Updated