Information on Loughborough

MRC scientists advance understanding of cell death

Posted on 14/08/2009
University of Leicester

Medical Research Council (MRC) scientists have made an important advance in understanding the biological processes involved when cells are prompted to die. The work may help scientists to eventually develop new treatments for the many common diseases and conditions which occur when cell death goes wrong.

The research, published in leading journal Molecular Cell [1] today (Friday 14 August 2009) was carried out by a team of scientists, at the MRC Toxicology Unit at the University of Leicester and a subsequent patent application has been filed by MRC Technology, the commercial arm of the MRC.

Cells in the human body are continually dying and most of these cells kill themselves by a form of cell death, commonly referred to as apoptosis. In a healthy body, the number of cells stays constant. Millions of new cells are produced every second, and millions of others are lost or kill themselves. Failure of the normal apoptosis process plays a role in different diseases including cancer, certain neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson