Non‐apoptotic cell death in Caenorhabditis elegans

Abstract

The simple nematode worm Caenorhabditis elegans has been instrumental in deciphering the molecular mechanisms underlying apoptosis. Beyond apoptosis, several paradigms of non-apoptotic cell death, either genetically or extrinsically triggered, have also been described in C. elegans. Remarkably, non-apoptotic cell death in worms and pathological cell death in humans share numerous key features and mechanistic aspects. Such commonalities suggest that similarly to apoptosis, non-apoptotic cell death mechanisms are also conserved, and render the worm a useful organism, in which to model and dissect human pathologies. Indeed, the genetic malleability and the sophisticated molecular tools available for C. elegans have contributed decisively to advance our understanding of non-apoptotic cell death. Here, we review the literature on the various types of non-apoptotic cell death in C. elegans and discuss the implications, relevant to pathological conditions in humans. Developmental Dynamics 239:1337-1351, 2010.V C 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Necrotic Cells Actively Attract Phagocytes through the Collaborative Action of Two Distinct PS-Exposure Mechanisms

“…Necrosis is most frequently observed during cell injury, and is closely associated with diseases such as stroke, neurodegeneration, chronic inflammation, and cancer [3–7]. Although necrosis was historically considered an uncontrolled cell death event caused by acute damage, recent discoveries made in multiple organisms demonstrated that in addition to injury-induced necrosis, cells possess genetic pathways that specifically trigger necrosis in response to extracellular or intracellular stimuli (reviewed in [8–11]). For instance, tumor necrosis factor (TNF) induces a necrosis pathway executed through Ser/Thr kinases [10].…”

“…In addition, hyperexcitation of neurons or glial cells induced by the massive release of neurotransmitters or constitutively active ion channels cause excitotoxic necrosis [7,12,13]. Unlike apoptosis, which relies on caspase-mediated death-triggering mechanisms, known necrosis-triggering pathways appear to be independent of caspase-activities (reviewed in [8,14]). On the other hand, like apoptotic cells, in many cases necrotic cells have been observed to be engulfed by phagocytes [15,16].…”

“…Besides being an excellent model organism for studying the mechanisms of apoptosis and the removal of apoptotic cells [18], the soil nematode Caenorhabditis elegans has also been established as a model for studying necrosis [8,13]. In C .…”

Cleaning up the mess: cell corpse clearance in Caenorhabditis elegans

“…Cells in C. elegans can also die through non-apoptotic means, including various types of non-apoptotic programmed cell death and necrotic-like death (reviewed in [42]). Intriguingly, the 'apoptotic' engulfment machinery can recognize and clear most if not all of types of cell corpses, irrespective of the cause of death.…”

Programmed Cell Death DuringCaenorhabditis elegansDevelopment

“…Genetic perturbations and/or various treatments can also lead to various forms of nonapoptotic cell death in C. elegans (pathological cell death). Since this type of cell death does not occur during normal C. elegans development and since it has recently been reviewed (Vlachos and Tavernarakis 2010;Kinet and Shaham 2014), it will not be covered here.…”