Common Themes Of Cell Injury And Death

There are four common themes when looking at cell injury and death. These themes include adenosine triphosphate depletion, oxygen derived free radicals, calcium alterations, and defects in membrane permeability. Cells are unable to properly function if they lack certain important cell factors.
ATP depletion
A cell needs mitochondrial adenosine triphosphate in order to function properly which is why when a cell is injured or dying, a common theme seen is lost or decreased ATP. ATP loss or a deduction in ATP synthetization is likely to cause many other problems such as swelling of the cell, a deduction in the making of proteins, error in normal membrane transporting. These resulting factors may eventually lead to an incompetent plasma membrane.