Apoptosis/Necrosis versus Cancer as a Defense Mechanism

Apoptosis/Necrosis versus Cancer as a Defense Mechanism

And Why I Consider N-Acetyl Cysteine Essential for Beating Cancer

by Marc Swanepoel, Naturopathic PhD

All cells require energy in the form of Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP). This substance cannot be stored in the cells and at any stage we have enough to last for about 3 to 5 seconds. It is thus a continuous process. A few billion years ago, primitive cells (eukaryotes) evolved the process of producing ATP energy without the use of oxygen by a process of glycolysis. Later on in the evolutionary process, when oxygen became part of the atmosphere, certain types of bacteria evolved a much more efficient way of producing ATP by utilizing oxygen through a process known as oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS). This new process was roughly 20 times more efficient than the glycolysis process.

Approximately two billion years ago, these bacteria and the original eukaryotes fused into a symbiotically functioning and more complex cell system. Researchers now acknowledge that the bacterial component of cells is the cellular mitochondria. All cells, with the exclusion of red blood cells, can have thousands of the mitochondria. These new "symbionts" can switch between the two systems of ATP production, depending on the demands of the cells. During the fetal stage and repair of cell damage, they switch to the ATP production from glucose in the cytoplasm. During the cell differentiation stage, they switch to the OXPHOS system of oxidative ATP production in the cell mitochondria. The switching system itself is controlled by an intricate signalling system that depends on the permeability of the mitochondrial membrane and its influence on the Ca 2+ cycle, the electrical charge across the mitochondrial membrane and other factors. All these factors, in turn, are modulated by the so-called thiol pool of which glutathione is the most important component (the Cysteine in NAC is used to produce Glutathione in the body).

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See also:

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