What Disease Causes Cell Death?
Many diseases cause cell death. It's not a single disease but rather a consequence of various pathogenic processes. Cell death is a fundamental biological process, and its dysregulation underlies numerous illnesses.
Several mechanisms lead to cell death. These include:
- Necrosis: This is a serious type of cell death causing permanent tissue damage. Examples include tissue damage following a heart attack (as noted in the Mayo Clinic article on Acute Coronary Syndrome), where reduced blood flow causes cell death in the heart muscle. The Cleveland Clinic article mentions necrosis as a type of cell death that leads to permanent tissue death.
- Apoptosis: This is programmed cell death, a crucial part of normal development and tissue homeostasis. However, dysregulation of apoptosis can contribute to diseases like cancer (as indicated by the NCI's definition of cancer and the Cleveland Clinic article on cell death).
- Autophagy: This is a cellular self-cleaning process. While essential for health, imbalances in autophagy can also contribute to diseases like cancer (Cleveland Clinic).
- Other forms of regulated cell death: These include ferroptosis, necroptosis, and pyroptosis, which can be directly involved in kidney injury or indirectly through inflammation (Nature Reviews Nephrology article on regulated cell death in kidney disease). Furthermore, genetic defects in apoptosis inhibitors can predispose individuals to inflammatory diseases linked to cell death (PubMed article on Caspase-8 driven apoptosis).
Specific Examples
Several diseases prominently feature cell death as a key pathological feature:
- Alzheimer's disease: Significant cell death in the brain leads to atrophy, a hallmark of this neurodegenerative disease (National Institute on Aging).
- Parkinson's disease: The death of dopaminergic neurons in the brain is a central aspect of Parkinson's, with various mechanisms like mitochondrial damage and α-synuclein accumulation implicated (Nature article on mitochondrial damage and Parkinson's; PubMed and PMC articles on the causes of cell death in Parkinson's disease).
- Mitochondrial diseases: Defects in mitochondrial function, particularly complex I, can lead to impaired NADPH production, causing inflammation and ultimately cell death (Nature article on defective NADPH production).
Infectious Diseases
Infectious diseases are caused by pathogens that invade the body (the definition provided in the introduction). While not solely causing cell death in all cases, pathogens can induce various forms of cell damage and death as part of their infectious process.
