Scientists Capture Key Moments in Cell Death

Scientists at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute have for the first time visualized the molecular changes in a critical cell death protein that force cells to die. The finding provides important insights into how cell death occurs, and could lead to new classes of medicines that control whether diseased cells live or die. Controlled cell death, called apoptosis, is important for controlling the number of cells in the body. Defects in cell death have been linked to the development of diseases such as cancer and neurodegenerative conditions. Insufficient cell death can cause cancer by allowing cells to become immortal while excessive cell death of neurons may be a cause of neurodegenerative conditions. Dr. Peter Czabotar, Professor Peter Colman, and colleagues in the institute's Structural Biology division, together with Dr. Dana Westphal from the institute's Molecular Genetics of Cancer division, made the discovery which is published in the January 31, 2013 edition of the journal Cell. Dr. Czabotar said activation of the protein Bax had long been known to be an important event leading to apoptosis, but until now it was not known how this activation occurred. "One of the key steps in cell death is that holes are punched into a membrane in the cell, the mitochondrial membrane," Dr Czabotar said. "Once this happens the cell is going to go on and die. Bax is responsible for punching the holes in the mitochondrial membrane and visualizing its activation brings us a step closer to understanding the mechanics of cell death." Using the Australian Synchrotron, Dr. Czabotar and colleagues were able to obtain detailed three-dimensional images of Bax changing shape as it moved from its inactive to active form. The active form ruptures mitochondrial membranes, removing the cell's energy supply and causing cell death.