Apoptosis takes its name from the Greek word describing the falling of leaves or petals...which presented an irresistible opportunity for a Shapiro flow song. I'm not sure many of you remember the Roger Williams piano arrangement of "Autumn Leaves", but those of you who do can try to conjure it up in the background. -Howard LES FEUILLES MORTS When outer leaflets of cell membranes Let phosphatidylserine show, Labeled annexin V will bind there, And you can measure it in flow. Mitochondria deenergize And superoxide levels rise, But the nuclear signs of apoptosis Come later; then, the cell dies. Did thymocytes get radiation? Was dexamethasone to blame? Or was it simply fas ligation? The end results are all the same. Lytic enzymes in the cell are loosed, And glutathione is reduced, And, around the time the membrane's leaky, The vultures all leave their roost. The journals publish three new assays For apoptosis every week; Is it biology which varies >From cell to cell, or just technique? Cells can stay alive, as good as new, If they can make bcl-2, But, if not, their DNA's in fragments When apoptosis is through. (c) Howard Shapiro September, 1997
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