Table 2.

Key features of different types of programmed cell death

	Key molecules	Caspase dependency	Morphology	Cell membrane	DNA fragmentation	Inflammation
Apoptosis	Death receptors and their ligands, Bax, Bak, apoptosis inducing factors, caspases-8, -3, -9	Caspase dependent	Cell shrinkage; membrane blebbing	Unchanged	DNA degraded into 180–200 bp fragments	No
Autophagy	ULK1, PI3KIII, Autophagy-related genes, LC3	Caspase independent	Formation of intracellular vacuoles, Enlargement of organelles, membrane blebbing	Unchanged	No	No
Necroptosis	Death receptors, Toll-like receptors, T-cell receptors, RIPKs, MLKL	Caspase independent	Cell swelling and deformation	Membrane rupture	Random degradation of DNA	Yes
Ferroptosis	System Xc−, Glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4), Lipid reactive oxygen species (ROS)	Caspase independent	Mitochondria shrinkage, decreased cristae	Membrane rupture	No	Yes (in some cases)
Pyroptosis	NOD-like receptors (NLRs), AIM2-like receptors (ALRs), caspase-1, casp	Caspase dependent	Cell swelling and deformation	Membrane rupture	Random degradation od DNA	Yes
Cuproptosis	Copper (Cu)-induced stress, Ferredoxin 1 (FDX1), Glutaminase 2 (GLS2), Cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 2 A (CDKN2A)	Caspase-independent	Mitochondrial swelling, organelle disruption	Membrane rupture	No	Yes
Anoikis	Death receptors and their ligands, Bax, Bak, AIF, caspase-8, caspase-3, caspase-9	Caspase dependent	Cell shrinkage; membrane blebbing,	unchanged	DNA degraded into 180–200 bp fragments	No