Section “Apoptosis and other fundamental cellular processes regulating cell fate”

Section “Programmed cell death” is dedicated to modern research on the mechanisms of cell death—a fundamental process important for all multicellular organisms. Dysregulation of cell death underlies many diseases, including cancer and neurodegenerative disorders.

The key topics of the section include:

• major pathways and mechanisms of cell death, such as apoptosis, necroptosis, and autophagy;
• extrinsic pathways of apoptosis as a model system for studying the regulation of cell fate;
• combined experimental and computational reconstruction of the structural and functional organization of gene networks involved in programmed cell death;
• computational models of the dynamics of molecular events in apoptosis;
• in silico design of new pharmacological molecules to control the process of apoptosis;
• modern systems medicine approaches aimed at identifying therapeutic targets and developing new treatment strategies for diseases associated with impaired cell death processes.

Integrative studies combining experimental and bioinformatics approaches to investigating apoptosis and other fundamental cellular processes that regulate the fate of a eukaryotic cell are welcome.