Physiological and Pathological Role of Apoptosis -- Apoptosome Structure and Regulation -- Chemical Regulation of the Apoptosome: New Alternative Treatments for Cancer -- Molecules That Bind a Central Protein Component of the Apoptosome, Apaf-1, and Modulate Its Activity -- Regulation of Cell Death and Survival by RNA Interference – The Roles of miRNA and siRNA -- Beneficial Role of Taurine Against Myocardial Apoptosis During Ischemic Injury -- BAG3 Protein: Role in Some Neoplastic Cell Types and Identification as a Candidate Target for Therapy -- Targeting Survivin in Cancer Therapy: Pre-clinical Studies -- Hsp70 and Hsp27: Emerging Targets in Cancer Therapy -- Role of the RNA-Binding Protein HuR in Apoptosis and Apoptosome Function -- Acetylcholinesterase as a Pharmacological Target in Cancer Research -- Putative Role of HCA66, A New Apaf-1 Interacting Protein, in the Physiopathology of NF1 Microdeletion Syndrome Patients -- Cristae Remodeling and Mitochondrial Fragmentation: A Checkpoint for Cytochrome c Release and Apoptosis? -- Apoptosome Pharmacological Manipulation: From Current Developments in the Laboratory to Clinical Implications -- The Therapeutic Role of Taurine in Ischaemia-Reperfusion Injury -- Targeting Survivin in Cancer Therapy: Clinical Considerations.

"Apoptosome" is the first book that presents a concise synthesis of recent developments in the understanding of how the activation of the cell death cascade is handled by a cytosolic signalling platform known as the apoptosome. The book also discusses how insights into the regulation of apoptosome may be exploited for designing new drugs aimed at interfere with a plethora of pathogenetic processes involved in human diseases. The authors emphasize novel translational approaches that are rapidly moving from the laboratory bench top to the patient's bedside for the future treatment of diseases associated with apoptosis. This book will be a valuable resource for researchers investigating the role of apoptosome-dependent cell death in cancer and other diseases, for researchers investigating the molecular mechanism of chemotherapeutic agents and drug-resistance and for physicians using chemotherapeutic agents. Additionally, this book will be an important educational source for PhD students and MD students specializing in molecular and cell biology, and to anybody interested in science, medicine, as well as in recent developments of the ideas and concepts of the molecular biology of programmed cell death.