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Cellular longevity: role of apoptosis and replicative senescence

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Abstract

Cellular longevity refers to the lifespan of an individual cell. Normal cells have a finite lifespan and typically die by undergoing apoptosis, or enter into a state of irreversible growth arrest, termed replicative senescence, at the end of that lifespan. The lifespan of a cell is a balance between pro-survival/anti-apoptotic and pro-apoptotic death-promoting factors. The role of heat shock proteins, Bcl-2 family members, antioxidant molecules, and telomere length and telomerase activity in the regulation of apoptosis and replicative senescence, will be discussed.

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  1. Department of Biochemistry & National Centre for Biomedical Engineering Science, National University of Ireland, Galway, University Road, Galway, Ireland

    Ronan T. Bree, Catherine Stenson-Cox, Maura Grealy, Lucy Byrnes, Adrienne M. Gorman & Afshin Samali

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  1. Ronan T. Bree
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  2. Catherine Stenson-Cox
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Correspondence to Afshin Samali.

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Bree, R.T., Stenson-Cox, C., Grealy, M. et al. Cellular longevity: role of apoptosis and replicative senescence. Biogerontology 3, 195–206 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1016299812327

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