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13
Mitochondria Functionality
During HIV Infection
Andrea Cossarizza,* Marcello Pinti,* Milena Nasi,*
Maria Garcia Fernandez, z Laura Moretti,* Cristina Mussini, y
Leonarda Troiano*
* Department of Biomedical Sciences and y Infectious Disease Clinics,
University of Modena and Reggio Emilia School of Medicine, Modena, Italy;
z
Department of Human Physiology, University of Malaga, Campus Teatinos,
Malaga, Spain
INTRODUCTION: THE DUAL ROLE OF MITOCHONDRIA
IN CELL LIFE AND DEATH
It is well established that at least two di¨erent main types of cell death exist,
i.e., necrosis and apoptosis, with peculiar characteristics. The former is the
outcome of a degenerative process or the passive consequence of gross injury to
the cell; the latter represents the end point of a process that actively involves
several cellular structures and organelles, including mitochondria. Apoptosis is
a crucial defense mechanism that has evolved to favor the elimination of cells
that are damaged or mutated. Classical studies have clari®ed that this type of
death is ®rst decided, then driven by the cell in a ®nely tuned fashion. Apoptosis
has a pivotal importance in all multicellular living organisms, being involved in
several physiological and pathological phenomena, including, among others,
embryogenesis, di¨erentiation, development of the immune system, control of
cell growth, oncogenesis, and viral production (Kerr et al., 1972; Laurent-
Crawford et al., 1991; Lee et al., 1993; Sen and D'Incalci, 1992; Vaux et al.,
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