Genetic control of programmed cell death during animal development

摘要

The elimination by programmed cell death of ‘unwanted’ cells is a common feature of animal development. Genetic studies in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster and the mouse have not only revealed the molecular machineries that cause the programmed demise of specific cells, but have also allowed us to get a glimpse of the types of pathways that regulate these machineries during development. Rather than giving a broad overview of programmed cell death during development, the current review will focus on recent advances in our understanding of the regulation of specific programmed cell death events during nematode, fly and mouse development. These studies have revealed that many of the regulatory pathways involved have additional important roles in development, which confirms that the programmed cell death fate is an integral aspect of animal development.