Not surprisingly, many major pharmaceutical companies recognize the value of apoptosis research. Understanding and controlling programmed cell death is expected to yield new drug discoveries and therapeutics. Researchers are exploring possible targets through cell-cycle inhibitors and molecules known as apoptosis-inducing factors (AIF). Much of the pharmaceutical research involves caspases--a family of enzymes that cleave intracellular proteins leading to apoptosis--while other efforts focus on the Bcl-2 protein family.
"There is an absolute explosion of research in apoptosis," says Sara Radcliffe, director of research for biologics, biotechnology, and preclinical affairs at Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), the major drug company industry group. "It is most exciting because apoptosis has a wide range of applications, from cancer research to HIV to organ transplantation," she says.
The research, also not surprisingly, is as varied as the apoptotic function itself. Abbott Laboratories, in Abbott Park, Ill., is searching for pro-apoptotic, small-molecule drugs using ...
