Scientists discover new way of triggering cell death, can be used for treating cancer and autoimmune diseases
Q. Scientists discover new way of triggering cell death- what is the natural process of programmed cell death to remove unwanted cells from the body called?- Published on 30 May 16a. Apoptosis
b. Oxytocin
c. Sepsis
d. Osmosis
ANSWER: Apoptosis
Scientists have discovered a new way of triggering cell death, a finding that may lead to drugs for treating cancer and autoimmune diseases
- Programmed cell death, also called apoptosis is a natural process to remove unwanted cells from the human body
- Failure of apoptosis allows cancer cells to grow unchecked or immune cells to incorrectly attack the body
- Protein called Bak is central to apoptosis. Researchers from Australia’s Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research have discovered a novel way of activating Bak to trigger cell death
- This can lead to development of drugs that trigger Bak activation to treat diseases such as cancer where apoptosis has gone awry
- Researchers used information about Bak 3D structure to ascertain how the antibody activated Bak
