Cell Death in Human Health and Disease

Mammalian cells adopt several cellular mechanisms to die, including apoptosis, autophagy, and programmed necrosis. Cell death has an important homeostatic role, mediating the removal of damaged cells, organelles, and proteins. Accumulated studies have increasingly shown that cell death plays critical roles in a variety of human diseases including cancers, infection, and neurodegenerative diseases. Novel cell death based drug targets and predictive biomarkers have been evaluated in several clinical trials. This special issue summarizes some of the most recent advances in our understanding of the relationships between cell death pathways and human diseases.