Drugs that stop the union of these two molecules could stop a cell from dying. Researchers also are looking to harness a recently identified brain-specific receptor that is a fat. Other major players protect nerve cells or neurons from cell death. A 1994 study used mice models to show the gene bc1-2, which seems to suppress apoptosis, could cut the damage delivered by stroke in half. In other laboratory studies bc1-2 protected neurons from some of the catalysts of cell death, such as free radical molecules.
Scientists continue to try to decipher the process.
Progress has been slow because apoptosis appears to work with a variation of steps, recruiting different players and causing havoc in different areas of the cells. But once the process is uncovered it will reveal the phenomenon of body development and housekeeping and may hold answers for those with neurological disease. The illustration shows a neuron undergoing a common form of apoptosis. The healthy neuron has a defined cell membrane and the cytoplasm and nucleus, which contains DNA, are intact. When apoptosis kicks in, the cell contorts and the DNA breaks up.