Scientists have measured the speed of death in cells

Scientists have measured the speed of cell death for the first time ever. Signals that trigger apoptosis – the natural process of programmed cell death – cascade through cells in waves at 30 micrometers per minute.

In multicomork, comorki sacrifice themselves with the whole organism’s welfare in mind. This process is called apoptosis. Through the programmed death of the comoIn multicellular organisms, the body removes worn-out or damaged comorki. This natural process can be cfowce to controlled suicideojstwa komorki however detailedoły on how this process occurs remains elusive.

Stanford University researchers measured the speed at which apoptosis proceeds. That’s about 30 micrometersow (0.03 millimeter) per minute. Inside the comorek death behaves like a wave. One death-inducing molecule activates another, and so on, until the cell dies completelyorki. This type of wave caused by the action of one or more things is known as a triggering wave.

The results of the study appeared in the pages of the „Science”.

Apoptosis is one of the most well-known forms of death in comorkowa. This is a process in whichorym the body gets rid of old, unnecessary or unhealthy comorek – such as those with mutations thatore can transform into, for example, canceror – without harming the surrounding tissue. But still the process is not clear to researchers. This is because it is not always the case that mutant cellsorks are removed from the body, as exemplified by cancer.

– Sometimes our comocells die when we don’t want them to – for example, in neurodegenerative diseases. And sometimes our comorks don’t die when we really want them to – for example, in the case of cancer – said James Ferrell of Stanford University. – And if we want to intervene, we need to understand how theob regulates apoptosis – he added.

To see apoptosis in a comorce, the researchers used the egg of an African clawed frog. They removed the cytoplasm – all the material except the nucleus – and placed it in a probowce. They then initiated the process of apoptosis, using green fluorescent protein to track the process of.

It appeared that the green glow moved at a constant speed, indicating that apoptosis spreads like waves. After the initiation of cell deathorks activate specific proteins that killoycze in the comorce, called caspases. These proteins then float to other caspases and activate them. These in turn follow suit, and so the whole process continues.

– Apoptosis spreads by thisob and never slows down. There is no smaller amplitude because at each step it generates swoj own impulse, transforming inactive molecules into active ones, until apoptosis spreads to every nook and cranny of the comorki – explained Ferrell.

Sourceobackground: Stanford Medicine, fot. Laboratory of Experimental Pathology, Division of Intramural Research, NIEHS (NIH). Pictured is a mouse liver preparation of comork entering into apoptosis.