Background
The regulation of apoptosis under basal (non-stress) conditions is crucial for normal mammalian development and also for normal cellular turnover in different tissues throughout life. Deficient regulation of basal apoptosis, or its perturbation, can result in impaired development and/or disease states including cancer. In contrast to stress-induced apoptosis the regulation of apoptosis under basal conditions is poorly understood. To address this issue we have compared basal- and stress-induced apoptosis in human epithelial cells of normal and cancerous origins. For this
Significance
Our results demonstrate that mechanistically distinct pathways operate to regulate apoptosis in mammalian cells under basal (physiological) versus stress-induced conditions. We also describe a novel apoptotic network which governs the basal survival of cancer cells. Such information is crucial for understanding normal cellular turnover during mammalian development and subsequently throughout life. This information also opens new avenues for therapeutic intervention in human proliferative disease states including cancer.