THE MITOCHONDRION: DECISIVE FOR CELL DEATH CONTROL?

KEY WORDS: apoptosis, mitochondrial transmembrane potential, necrosis, permeability transition, programmed cell death.INTRODUCTIONApoptosis is a strictly regulated ("programmed") device which allows the removal of superfluous, aged, or damaged cells. Apoptosis constitutes a physiological mechanism, but its control can become deficient and lead to numerous pathologies. Thus, an abnormal resistance to apoptosis induction generates malformations, autoimmune disease or cancer due to the persistence of superfluous, selfspecific, or mutated cells, respectively. In contrast, elevated apoptotic decay of cells participates in acute diseases (infection by toxinproducing microorganisms, ischemia-reperfusion damage, infarction, apoplexy), as well as in chronic pathologies (neurodegenerative and neuromuscular diseases, AIDS).