Tait · Cold Spring Harbor perspectives in biology 2013 · narrative review · n=?

Mitochondrial regulation of cell death.

Cited 536 times in the scientific literature.

Level 5 - mechanism / opinion, no new human data

Narrative review of cellular and molecular mechanisms without primary human data.

PubMed 24003207 · doi:10.1101/cshperspect.a008706 · record verified 2026-08-26

What was done

This narrative review synthesizes the biological mechanisms governing mitochondrial outer membrane permeabilization (MOMP), the subsequent release of mitochondrial intermembrane space proteins, downstream caspase-dependent and caspase-independent cell death pathways, and cellular mechanisms that may permit survival after MOMP occurs.

What was found

The abstract provides a conceptual overview and contains no numerical data or quantitative outcomes. It describes MOMP as a critical regulatory event in apoptosis that leads to protein release and caspase activation, generally serving as a commitment point to cell death even in the absence of caspase activity, while noting that specific mechanisms can sometimes allow cells to recover and survive following MOMP.

Why it matters

Clarifying the precise molecular controls of MOMP helps explain cell fate determination in apoptosis and highlights potential targets for therapeutic intervention in diseases driven by dysregulated cell death.

Limits

This is a narrative review that presents mechanistic models rather than primary empirical data. The abstract reports no sample sizes, systematic review protocols, quantitative effect sizes, or human clinical outcomes.

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