Over the past decade, the Nomenclature Committee on Cell Death (NCCD) has formulated guidelines for the definition and interpretation of cell death from morphological, biochemical, and functional perspectives. Since the field continues to expand and novel mechanisms that orchestrate multiple cell death pathways are unveiled, we propose an updated classification of cell death subroutines focusing on mechanistic and essential (as opposed to correlative and dispensable) aspects of the process. As we provide molecularly oriented definitions of terms including intrinsic apoptosis, extrinsic apoptosis, mitochondrial permeability transition (MPT)-driven necrosis, necroptosis, ferroptosis, pyroptosis, parthanatos, entotic cell death, NETotic cell death, lysosome-dependent cell death, autophagy-dependent cell death, immunogenic cell death, cellular senescence, and mitotic catastrophe, we discuss the utility of neologisms that refer to highly specialized instances of these processes. The mission of the NCCD is to provide a widely accepted nomenclature on cell death in support of the continued development of the field.

Fas ligand (FasL), a cell surface molecule belonging to the tumor necrosis factor family, binds to its receptor Fas, thus inducing apoptosis of Fas-bearing cells. Various cells express Fas, whereas FasL is expressed predominantly in activated T cells. In the immune system, Fas and FasL are involved in down-regulation of immune reactions as well as in T cell-mediated cytotoxicity. Malfunction of the Fas system causes lymphoproliferative disorders and accelerates autoimmune diseases, whereas its exacerbation may cause tissue destruction.