Understanding how BH3-only proteins initiate apoptosis in response to chemotherapy

未能启动细胞死亡是大多数癌症发展的一个标志，杀死所有肿瘤细胞对于有效的癌症治疗至关重要。一组被称为BH3-only蛋白的蛋白质通常会感知细胞应激，从而引发细胞死亡。它们的失调会导致癌症和化疗无效。了解这些蛋白质是如何诱导细胞死亡的，将有助于设计出模仿这种活性的药物，以改善癌症治疗。

Failure to initiate cell death is a hallmark in the development of the majority of cancers and killing all tumour cells is essential for effective cancer treatment. A group of proteins termed the BH3-only proteins normally sense cell stress to trigger cell death. Their dysregulation contributes to cancer and failure to respond to chemotherapy. Understanding how these proteins function to induce cell death will allow the design of drugs that mimic this activity for improved cancer therapy.