How winner cells cause the demise of loser cells: cell competition causes apoptosis of suboptimal cells: their dregs are removed by hemocytes, thus preserving tissue homeostasis

Abstract

Recent results show that, during the process known as cell competition, winner cells identify and kill viable cells from a growing population without requiring engulfment. The engulfment machinery is mainly required in circulating macrophages (hemocytes) after the discrimination between winners and losers is completed and the losers have been killed and extruded from the epithelium. Those new results leave us with the question as to which molecules allow winner cells to recognize and impose cell death on the loser cells during cell competition.