A team of researchers from the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research have, for the first time, visualized the molecular changes in a critical cell death protein that force cells in the body to die.

The research promises to provide a better understanding into how cell death occurs, and could lead to the development of new medicines which control whether or not specific cells die.

Cell death, called apoptosis, is important for controlling the number of cells in the body. Defects in cell death have been linked to the development of diseases such as cancer and neurodegenerative conditions. Insufficient cell death can cause cancer by allowing cells to become immortal while excessive cell death of neurons may be a cause of neurodegenerative conditions.

Study leader, Dr Peter Czabotar, said that the activation of the protein Bax had been long known to be important in leading to cell death, but until now it was not known how this activation occurred.

“One of the key steps in cell death is that holes are punched into a membrane in the cell, the mitochondrial membrane,” Dr Czabotar said. 

Once this happens the cell is going to go on and die. Bax is responsible for punching the holes in the mitochondrial membrane and visualising its activation brings us a step closer to understanding the mechanics of cell death.”