Chapters authored
Necrosis as Programmed Cell Death
The process of cell death is the mechanism through which organisms eliminate useless cells. Hence, it is a normal process that maintains homeostasis. Cell removal can be effectuated by several pathways that involve complex and regulated molecular events specific to each type of cell death. Diverse studies have evidenced different types of cell death: apoptosis, autophagy, and necrosis. This chapter presents a brief review of the apoptotic and autophagic cell death processes but focuses attention primarily on necrosis because it has previously been considered an accidental and uncontrolled form of cell death. More recent evidence, however, has shown that, under certain circumstances, necrosis is conducted by a controlled program called necroptosis, which is now included as a programmed cell death process.
Part of the book: Cell Death
Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress during Mammalian Follicular Atresia
Follicles are ovarian structures that contain a single germ cell. During the mammalian reproductive lifetime, ovarian follicles mature through the process of follicular development, with the aim of selecting oocytes for ovulation. As part of this process, several follicles are eliminated by means of follicular atresia, a mechanism that mainly involves apoptosis. Nevertheless, it has been shown that there are other routes of programmed cell death in the ovary including autophagy, paraptosis, and necroptosis. Surprisingly, the endoplasmic reticulum is involved in these different programmed cell death pathways. Moreover, there are several evidences for the pathways triggered by intra- and extracellular signals in endoplasmic reticulum-induced cell death. Thus, it is important to analyze the participation of endoplasmic reticulum in follicular atresia.
Part of the book: Endoplasmic Reticulum