ReviewPLoS pathogens2011
The meaning of death: evolution and ecology of apoptosis in protozoan parasites.
Review in PLoS pathogens, 2011. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 39 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
39 citing papers in PubMed.
- Article
- Article
- Putrescine Depletion inPathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Repurposing COVID-19 Compounds (via MMV COVID Box): Almitrine and Bortezomib Induce Programmed Cell Death inPathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Linking selection to demography in experimental evolution of active death in a unicellular organism.Proceedings. Biological sciences · 2024Article
- Article
- Anti-COVID Drugs (MMV COVID Box) as Leishmanicidal Agents: Unveiling New Therapeutic Horizons.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Honokiol induces apoptosis-like death in Cryptocaryon irritans Tomont.Parasites & vectors · 2023Article
- Meroterpenoids fromPharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Article
- Discovery of New Chemical Tools againstPharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Article
- The Distribution of Genes Associated With Regulated Cell Death Is Decoupled From the Mitochondrial Phenotypes Within Unicellular Eukaryotic Hosts.Frontiers in cell and developmental biology · 2020Article
- Extracellular Vesicles Could Carry an Evolutionary Footprint in Interkingdom Communication.Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2020Review
- In vitro activity of 1H-phenalen-1-one derivatives against Leishmania spp. and evidence of programmed cell death.Parasites & vectors · 2019Article
- Cell Death in Evolutionary Transitions in Individuality.The Yale journal of biology and medicine · 2019Review
- Discrimination Experiments in Entamoeba and Evidence from Other Protists Suggest Pathogenic Amebas Cooperate with Kin to Colonize Hosts and Deter Rivals.The Journal of eukaryotic microbiology · 2019Review
- Characterization of the molecular mechanism of the autophagy-related Atg8-Atg3 protein interaction inThe Journal of biological chemistry · 2018Article
- Transmission traits of malaria parasites within the mosquito: Genetic variation, phenotypic plasticity, and consequences for control.Evolutionary applications · 2018Article
- Immunology and Genetic ofJournal of research in medical sciences : the official journal of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences · 2018Review
- Just So Stories about the Evolution of Apoptosis.Current biology : CB · 2016Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
Abstract
The discovery that an apoptosis-like, programmed cell death (PCD) occurs in a broad range of protozoan parasites offers novel therapeutic tools to treat some of the most serious infectious diseases of humans, companion animals, wildlife, and livestock. Whilst apoptosis is an essential part of normal development, maintenance, and defence in multicellular organisms, its occurrence in unicellular parasites appears counter-intuitive and has proved highly controversial: according to the Darwinian notion of "survival of the fittest", parasites are expected to evolve strategies to maximise their proliferation, not death. The prevailing, and untested, opinion in the literature is that parasites employ apoptosis to "altruistically" self-regulate the intensity of infection in the host/vector. However, evolutionary theory tells us that at most, this can only be part of the explanation, and other non-mutually exclusive hypotheses must also be tested. Here, we explain the evolutionary concepts that can explain apoptosis in unicellular parasites, highlight the key questions, and outline the approaches required to resolve the controversy over whether parasites "commit suicide". We highlight the need for integration of proximate and functional approaches into an evolutionary framework to understand apoptosis in unicellular parasites. Understanding how, when, and why parasites employ apoptosis is central to targeting this process with interventions that are sustainable in the face of parasite evolution.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.