Researchers first used the word "apoptosis" in 1972, but the principle was described in the 1840s. Research on C. elegans during the 1970s provided important steps forward in understanding programmed cell death.
Apoptosis plays an essential role in embryonic development. It also protects the body everyday by the programmed cell death of damaged or diseased cells. Defective apoptosis has been implicated in cancer and HIV.
A tadpole's tail loss as it develops into a mature frog and human fetal hand development from webbed to separated fingers illustrate programmed cell death.
The apoptosis-inducing p53 gene helps suppress tumors and is frequently mutated in cancer. During the last decade, scientists discovered two related genes, p63 and p73, that also induce programmed cell death.
Elucidation of apoptosis pathways in cancer provides opportunities to develop anti-cancer medications and gene therapy for cancer treatment. Apoptosis research may also provide treatment for autoimmune diseases and HIV.