Apoptosis and Its Relevance to Autoimmunity

Apoptosis, a form of programmed cell death, has become a highly prominent focus in modern biology and medical research, according to editor Elkon (rheumatology, U. of Washington), who presents 11 papers discussing the three major areas of apoptosis research: extrinsic death receptor pathways, intrinsic death pathways, and mechanisms responsible apoptic cell clearance. For each of theses sections, proteins and signal transduction pathways are delineated and genetic alterations that lead to autoim…