Process of a Dying Cell Holds Potential for Disease Treatment: Dr. Ivan Poon Explains His Research

Dr. Poon's research into the mechanism of cell death reveals that what was long thought a random process actually has signs of regulation. In this podcast, you'll learn:

• What about the process signifies regulation.
• What cells release in these extracellular vesicles when they die.
• Why understanding the process of cell death in disease settings may lead to disease-fighting drugs.

Dr. Ivan Poon of La Trobe University is a Senior Research Fellow in biochemistry and genetics. He specializes in extracellular vesicles and cell turnover, or the mechanisms of cell death. In this discussion, he explains his focus on trying to understand what happens when cells die. The amount of energy a cell puts into generating small vesicles, or apoptotic bodies, during turnover is significant. Therefore, he and other researchers are studying why cells invest in this process.

While researchers have known the basics of cell death for decades, only recently has this mechanism of cell death process been understood as highly regulated rather than random. Furthermore, each cell type follows a different process. Monocytes, for example, form a string-like protrusion like a beaded necklace that then generates apoptotic bodies.

Most important for Dr. Poon is to understand the molecular mechanism of this process—what controls it. The answers may enable special treatment for diseases including drugs that either inhibit or accelerate cell deaths depending on the process needed to regain health.

For more, see Dr. Poon's page on the La Trobe University web site: https://scholars.latrobe.edu.au/display/ipoon