Combined effect of arsenic and polystyrene-nanoplastics at environmentally relevant concentrations in mice liver: Activation of apoptosis, pyroptosis and excessive autophagy

Pyroptosis was long regarded as caspase-1-mediated monocyte death in response to certain bacterial insults. Caspase-1 is activated upon various infectious and immunological challenges through different inflammasomes. The discovery of caspase-11/4/5 function in sensing intracellular lipopolysaccharide expands the spectrum of pyroptosis mediators and also reveals that pyroptosis is not cell type specific. Recent studies identified the pyroptosis executioner, gasdermin D (GSDMD), a substrate of both caspase-1 and caspase-11/4/5. GSDMD represents a large gasdermin family bearing a novel membrane pore-forming activity. Thus, pyroptosis is redefined as gasdermin-mediated programmed necrosis. Gasdermins are associated with various genetic diseases, but their cellular function and mechanism of activation (except for GSDMD) are unknown. The gasdermin family suggests a new area of research on pyroptosis function in immunity, disease, and beyond.

Plastic debris 1900 fibers per wash. This suggests that a large proportion of microplastic fibers found in the marine environment may be derived from sewage as a consequence of washing of clothes. As the human population grows and people use more synthetic textiles, contamination of habitats and animals by microplastic is likely to increase.

Cell death was once believed to be the result of one of two distinct processes, apoptosis (also known as programmed cell death) or necrosis (uncontrolled cell death); in recent years, however, several other forms of cell death have been discovered highlighting that a cell can die via a number of differing pathways. Apoptosis is characterised by a number of characteristic morphological changes in the structure of the cell, together with a number of enzyme-dependent biochemical processes. The result being the clearance of cells from the body, with minimal damage to surrounding tissues. Necrosis, however, is generally characterised to be the uncontrolled death of the cell, usually following a severe insult, resulting in spillage of the contents of the cell into surrounding tissues and subsequent damage thereof. Failure of apoptosis and the resultant accumulation of damaged cells in the body can result in various forms of cancer. An understanding of the pathways is therefore important in developing efficient chemotherapeutics. It has recently become clear that there exists a number of subtypes of apoptosis and that there is an overlap between apoptosis, necrosis and autophagy. The goal of this review is to provide a general overview of the current knowledge relating to the various forms of cell death, including apoptosis, necrosis, oncosis, pyroptosis and autophagy. This will provide researchers with a summary of the major forms of cell death and allow them to compare and contrast between them.