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Constitutive nuclear localization of activated caspase 3 in subpopulations of the astroglial family of cells
Author(s) -
NoyanAshraf Mohammad Hossein,
Brandizzi Federica,
Juurlink Bernhard H.J.
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
glia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.954
H-Index - 164
eISSN - 1098-1136
pISSN - 0894-1491
DOI - 10.1002/glia.20140
Subject(s) - biology , apoptosis , spinal cord , microbiology and biotechnology , neuroscience , astrocyte , neuroglia , cerebellum , caspase , glutamate receptor , caspase 3 , central nervous system , programmed cell death , receptor , biochemistry
In a study examining for apoptosis in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR), we observed the constitutive presence of activated caspase 3 in Bergmann glia. We then examined stroke‐prone SHR as well as the normotensive strains Wistar, Wistar Kyoto, and Sprague‐Dawley. In all these strains, we found that Bergmann glia expressed activated caspase 3 in nuclei. Furthermore, subpopulations of astrocytes in the granular layer of the cerebellar cortex, in the hippocampus, and spinal cord gray matter, particularly in the dorsal part of the dorsal horns, expressed nuclear activated caspase 3. This distribution corresponds to the distribution of astrocytes that express the glutamate transporter GLAST. We conclude that Bergmann glia and a subpopulation of astrocytes throughout the CNS express activated caspase 3 in nuclei to fulfill a yet‐to‐be defined non‐apoptotic function. GLIA. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.