Apoptosis or programmed cell death is an inherent part of the development and homeostasis of multicellular organisms. Dysregulation of apoptosis is implicated in the pathogenesis of diseases such as cancer, neurodegenera-tive diseases and autoimmune disorders. Tumour necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) is able to induce apoptosis by binding death receptor (DR)4 (TRAIL-R1) and DR5 (TRAIL-R2), which makes TRAIL an interesting and promising therapeutic target.
