Introduction to cell biology: Zooming in on apoptosis in prokaryotes and eukaryotes

Abstract

Abstract The process of programmed cell death referred to as apoptosis in multi-cellular organisms or in eukaryotes, is very well defined and of prime importance in maintaining homeostasis. Pathway/s analogous to apoptosis in prokaryotes, however, are poorly determined. Since manipulating any component of this machinery ideally possesses the power to modulate a cell’s life and death, this biological phenomenon is being explored for its therapeutic potential in neuronal degeneration, cancer, and autoimmunity. The subject is also being actively pursued in the fields of infectious diseases and host-pathogen interactions, where apoptosis is a self-defense strategy induced by the host’s innate immune system in response to bacterial invasion. To harness this potential, scientists have been trying to equate the “self burst” mechanism observed in bacteria, with apoptosis in eukaryotes in order to identify various regulators and shared features of cell death. While our knowledge about regulators of apoptosis in eukaryotes has progressed at a significant rate, in prokaryotes, the genes and proteins that mark its onset are still under investigation. In part, these lacunae in our understanding of apoptotic pathways in unicellular organisms can be attributed to the basic differences in eukaryotic and prokaryotic morphology. Therefore, in this chapter, the primary focus is on detailing the key morphological features of eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells, the similarities and differences therein, and the apoptotic pathways operating within.