ABSTRACT
In embryonic development, controlling the number of cells is essential to generating functional organs. While proliferation and differentiation are major embryonic development processes, apoptosis, also called programmed cell death, plays an important role in regulating the number of preexisting cells by deleting them. In addition to its functional and anatomic contributions to embryo development, apoptosis is also one of the critical pathophysiological features in many diseases, including neurodegenerative diseases, autoimmune and cardiovascular diseases, as
3.1 Introduction ..................................................................................................... 59 3.2 Cardiovascular System .................................................................................... 62
3.2.1 Myocardial Infarction .......................................................................... 62 3.2.1.1 Ischemic Heart Diseases and Heart Failure .......................... 62 3.2.1.2 Signaling Pathways and Caspase Involvement ...................... 62
3.2.2 Atherosclerosis .....................................................................................64 3.2.2.1 Apoptosis in Atherosclerosis .................................................64 3.2.2.2 Effects of Antiapoptotic Agents ............................................64
