Chronicles of a Silent Death: Apoptosis

In whole human body thousands and thousands of cells are produced by mitosis every second and a similar number dies at the same time through a genetically controlled pathway of cellular self-destruction: apoptosis. The homeostatic balance between proliferation and cell death occur in a finely regulated manner during embryonic development and throughout life. However, this balance is often altered by both internal and/or external agents such as inherited mutations or chemotherapy, respectively; acting like mutagens and providing an unlimited proliferation level where affected cells evade apoptosis and lead cancer. Currently, chemotherapy is the most used strategy for preventing and fight against cancer; nevertheless, it is not specific and it could produce serious side effects including the generation of a second tumor. Activation or reactivation of apoptosis in cancer cells using specific and natural drugs discovered is one of the key alternatives to combat this disease, which occurs in a silent manner and without adverse effects. This review presents the main dramatic features that occur during apoptosis activation and the main proteins, which trigger and inhibits this death pathway.