Programmed cell death signaling networks are frequently activated to coordinate the process of cell differentiation, and a variety of apoptotic events can mediate the process. This can include the ligation of death receptors, the activation of downstream caspases, and the induction of chromatin fragmentation, and all of these events can occur without downstream induction of death. Importantly, regulators of programmed cell death also have established roles in mediating differentiation. This review will provide an overview of apoptosis and its regulation by Inhibitors of Apoptosis (IAPs) and Bcl-2 family members. It will then outline the cross-talk between NF-ĸB and apoptotic signaling in the regulation of apoptosis before discussing the function of these regulators in the control of cell differentiation. It will end on a discussion of how a DNA damage-directed, cell cycle-dependent differentiation program may be controlled across multiple passages through cell cycle, and will assert that the failure to properly differentiate is the underlying cause of cancer.
Dual roles of Drosophila p53 in cell death and cell differentiation