ABSTRACT
Cytoplasmic and nuclear organelles are all affected by cell division, whether actively or passively. It is also well established that organelles are intricately involved in cell death, whether it be the part played by lysosomes in necrosis or the central roles of particularly the cell membrane, the mitochondria and the nucleus in the apoptotic cascade. Although nuclear DNA damage and ligation of plasma membrane death receptors have long been recognised as initial triggers of apoptosis, evidence is accumulating to suggest that other organelles, including endoplasmic reticulum, lysosomes and Golgi apparatus, are also major points for pro-apoptotic signalling and damage sensing [1]. Cell division and cell death are realms in which molecular, biochemical and cell biological methods are beginning to shed light on how the nucleus
Cell Proliferation and Apoptosis, David Hughes and Huseyin Mehmet (Eds) © 2003 BIOS Scientific Publishers Ltd, Oxford
Figure 1.1
A schematic drawing of a generalised animal cell showing the main cytoplasmic and nuclear ultrastructural features. (Abbreviation: PML body, promyelocyte leukaemia body.)
functions in relation to cell structure in general. An understanding of basic cell structure and function, and of the nucleus in particular, is essential to any study of cell proliferation and cell death (Figure 1.1) [2].
