Premium
Postnatal distribution of cpp 32/caspase 3 mRNA in the mouse central nervous system: An in situ hybridization study
Author(s) -
De Bilbao F.,
Guarin E.,
Nef P.,
Vallet P.,
Giannakopoulos P.,
DuboisDauphin M.
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
journal of comparative neurology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.855
H-Index - 209
eISSN - 1096-9861
pISSN - 0021-9967
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1096-9861(19990705)409:3<339::aid-cne1>3.0.co;2-q
Subject(s) - biology , in situ hybridization , neurogenesis , olfactory bulb , programmed cell death , dentate gyrus , central nervous system , microbiology and biotechnology , caspase , neocortex , gene expression , messenger rna , apoptosis , neuroscience , gene , genetics
Apoptotic cell death is a major feature of the developing nervous system and of certain neurodegenerative diseases. Various gene effectors and repressors of this type of cell death have been identified. Among them, bcl‐xl and bax , which encode for antiapoptotic and proapoptotic proteins, respectively, play major roles during development. The gene cpp 32 encodes for the caspase 3 cysteine protease and is a critical mediator of cell death during embryonic development in the mammalian brain. To gain insight into the possible implications of these cell death genes during the postnatal development, we investigated the expression of bax , bcl‐xl , and cpp 32 mRNAs by in situ hybridization in the mouse brain from birth to adulthood. Whereas bax and bcl‐xl mRNAs were expressed widely in neonates and adult mice, our results showed that cpp 32 mRNA levels were decreased strongly from 12 postnatal days. From 1 postnatal day to 12 postnatal days, cpp 32 mRNA was expressed ubiquitously in all brain nuclei, including areas where neurogenesis occurred. A positive correlation between areas displaying high levels of mRNA and apoptotic nuclei also was shown. In the adult, cpp 32 mRNA was restricted to the piriform and entorhinal cortices, the neocortex, and to areas where neurogenesis is observed (e.g., olfactory bulb and dentate gyrus). The same pattern of expression was observed in adult mice over‐expressing the antiapoptotic protein Bcl‐2. These results demonstrate that the expression of cpp 32 mRNA is highly regulated during the mouse postnatal period, leading to a specific distribution in the adult central nervous system. Moreover, the prevention of cell death by Bcl‐2 likely is not linked to the regulation of caspase mRNA levels. J. Comp. Neurol. 409:339–357, 1999. © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.