2 thoughts on “IN karyloysis, why is the DNA being broken down by endonucleases?

  1. Endonucleases are activated by increasing concentration of cytosolic Ca2+.

    The concentration of cytosolic Ca2+ are 10.000 times lower than extracellular Ca2+ and Ca2+ which remain inside mitochondria and ER.

    Cytosolic Ca2+ is maintain by ATP-dependent Ca2-pumps.

    During cell injury, such as ischemia, ATP are depleted, which leeds to failure of the ATP-dependent Ca2+ pumps – which leeds to increased cytosolic ATP – which leeds to activation of endonucleases.

    Endonucleases cleaves the phosphodiester bond within a polynucleotide chain.

  2. Karyolysis is the process of DNA breakdown in a dying cell due DNase activity. A DNase (short for deoxyribonuclease) is an enzyme that catalyzes the cleavage of phosphodiester bonds in DNA – some are exonucleases cleaving at the ends of DNA molecules and some are endonucleases cleaving anywhere in the DNA chain. The activity of some endo-deoxyribonucleases is activated during cell death – for example by caspases during apoptosis.

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