Coordination of cell death and the cell cycle: linking proliferation to death through private and communal couplers

In development and in the adult, complex signaling pathways operate within and between cells to coordinate proliferation and cell death. These networks can be viewed as coupling devices that link engines driving the cell cycle and the initiation of apoptosis. We propose three simple frameworks for modeling the effects of proliferative drive on apoptotic propensity. This perspective offers a potentially useful foundation for predicting group behaviors of cells in normal and pathological settings.