Abstract

This work proposes to use the marine algal toxin yessotoxin (YTX) to establish reference model experiments to explore medically valuable effects from induction of multiple cell death pathways. YTX is one of few toxins reported to make such induction. It is a small molecule compound which at low concentrations can induce apoptosis in primary cultures, many types of cells and cell lines. It can also induce a non-apoptotic form of programmed cell death in BC3H1 myoblast cell lines. The present contribution reviews arguments that this type of induction may have principal interest outside this particular example. One principal effect of medical interest may be that cancer cells will not so easily adapt to the synergistic effects from induction of more than one death pathway as compared to induction of only apoptosis.

Highlights

  • Programmed cell death mechanisms are significant for development, maintenance and self-regulation of multicellular organisms [1]

  • Apoptosis is an active gene regulated programmed cell death mechanism executed by caspases [7,8,9,10]

  • Similar detailed knowledge is missing for non-apoptotic forms of programmed cell death mechanisms [25,26,27]. These programmes operate in a caspase-independent manner and they are not affected by apoptosis inhibitors [24,28]

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Summary

Introduction

Programmed cell death mechanisms are significant for development, maintenance and self-regulation of multicellular organisms [1]. Apoptosis is an active gene regulated programmed cell death mechanism executed by caspases [7,8,9,10] It is characterised by activation of a sequence of cellular, morphological and biochemical changes. Yessotoxin (YTX) is a marine algal toxin that can induce programmed cell death at nanomolar concentrations in different model systems [15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22]. It affects cellular systems in a cell-specific manner. Elucidation of the molecular mechanisms and biochemical markers implicated in multiple forms of programmed cell death induced by yessotoxin may help to develop therapeutic approaches related to conditions characterised by excessive cell death or by excessive cell death accumulation

Programmed Cell Death in Disease Models
Potential Medical Applications for Yessotoxin
Other Examples of Complex Induction of Programmed Cell Death
Findings
Concluding Remarks

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