Cellular conference call: external feedback affects cell-fate decisions

Abstract

Cells often need to respond to multiple opposing signals simultaneously. In this issue of Cell, it is shown that challenging cells with multiple extracellular signals induces an external feedback that involves the release of and response to additional secreted factors with antagonistic functions. These results suggest that an individual cell's decision to die or survive is not wholly independent but depends, at least in part, on feedback from its neighbors.