Death Receptors in Liver Biology and Pathobiology

The only thing certain in life is death. Indeed, among the bustle of mitosis and growth, the process of removal of senescent, damaged, or otherwise unwanted cells by apoptosis is simply a matter of business for the organism. Therefore, it is not surprising that nature has not left cell death to chance, but has developed finely tuned mechanisms for cellular disassembly. Analogous to growth regulation by growth factors and receptors, a complementary process exists to regulate cell death using death factors and death receptors. Current information suggests that these death ligands and corresponding receptors are not only important in regulating physiological cell death, but also mediate cell death in human liver diseases. Thus, knowledge regarding how cell death receptors function may help in developing rational therapeutic strategies to ameliorate clinical liver disease.