Apoptosis and beyond: A new era for programmed cell death in Caenorhabditis elegans

Olya Yarychkivska; Rashna Sharmin; Aladin Elkhalil; Piya Ghose

doi:10.1016/j.semcdb.2023.02.003

Apoptosis and beyond: A new era for programmed cell death in Caenorhabditis elegans

Semin Cell Dev Biol. 2024 Feb 15;154(Pt A):14-22. doi: 10.1016/j.semcdb.2023.02.003. Epub 2023 Feb 13.

Authors

Olya Yarychkivska¹, Rashna Sharmin², Aladin Elkhalil², Piya Ghose³

Affiliations

¹ The Rockefeller University, USA.
² The University of Texas at Arlington, USA.
³ The University of Texas at Arlington, USA. Electronic address: piya.ghose@uta.edu.

PMID: 36792437
DOI: 10.1016/j.semcdb.2023.02.003

Abstract

Programmed cell death (PCD) is crucial for normal development and homeostasis. Our first insights into the genetic regulation of apoptotic cell death came from in vivo studies in the powerful genetic model system of C. elegans. More recently, novel developmental cell death programs occurring both embryonically and post-embryonically, and sex-specifically, have been elucidated. Recent studies in the apoptotic setting have also shed new light on the intricacies of phagocytosis in particular. This review provides a brief historical perspective of the origins of PCD studies in C. elegans, followed by a more detailed description of non-canonical apoptotic and non-apoptotic death programs. We conclude by posing open questions and commenting on our outlook on the future of PCD studies in C. elegans, highlighting the importance of advanced imaging tools and the continued leveraging of C. elegans genetics both with classical and modern cutting-edge approaches.

Keywords: Apoptosis; CCE; Cancer; LCD; Pruning.

Publication types

Review