Table 4.
Characteristic features of different cell death pathways.
| Characteristic of the dying cell | Apoptosis | Necrosis | Pyroptosis | Necroptosis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DNA fragmentation | + (171–173) | +/− (171, 172) | + (174–177) | ? (See necrosis) |
| Nuclear condensation | + (171–173) | (172, 178) | + (179) | − (172, 180) |
| Nuclear integrity maintained | − (171–173) | + (171, 172) | + (181) | + (172, 180) |
| Cell swelling | − (171–173) | + (171, 172) | + (175) | + (172, 180) |
| Lysis/membrane permeability | − (171–173) | + (171, 172) | + (175) | + (178) |
| Membrane blebbing and shedding | + (171–173) | − (171, 172) | − (182) | ? (See necrosis) |
| Membrane pore formation | − | − | + (183–185) | + (186, 187) |
| DAMP release | − | + (188) | + (179) | + (178) |
| IL-1β and IL-18 release | − | − | + (179) | − |
| Main caspases | casp-3 and casp-7 | Non-caspase mediated | casp-1 and casp-11 (mouse) casp4 and casp-5 (humans) |
Non-caspase mediated (189) |
+, present; −, absent; +/−, present to a limited degree; ?, not yet assessed.
GsdmD, gasdermin D; DAMP, danger-associated molecular pattern.