Chapter 14 Cell death and the immune system

Abstract

Organism survival implies a balance of life and death on a cellular level. With respect to the immune system, cell death occurs during the development of mature B and T cell repertoires, and is an important aspect of their reactivity against foreign targets. This cell death primarily takes the form of apoptosis. Apoptosis, also referred to as programmed cell death, differs from the random destructive nature of necrosis, in that the dying apoptotic cell undergoes chromatin condensation, maintains intact membranes and organelles, and buds to form apoptotic bodies which are then phagocytosed without inflammation. Biochemically, apoptosis is regulated by several types of proteins including the B..