title: Co-existence of necrosis and apoptosis in rat hippocampus following transient forebrain ischemia.
abstract: Morphological changes of CA1 and CA3 pyramidal neurons in rat hippocampus at different intervals following transient forebrain ischemia were examined to determine the nature of post-ischemic cell death in these regions. In the CA1 region, swelling of small dendrites occurred at approximately 24 h reperfusion. At approximately 48 h reperfusion, swelling was found in large dendrites of many CA1 neurons and the mitochondria and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) were dilated. A small portion of neurons showed chromatin aggregation and nuclear indentation without swelling signs. At approximately 60 h reperfusion, swelling of somata was evident in many neurons. Large dense chromatin clumps with round or ovoid contour were found in other neurons. At 72 and 96 h after ischemia, many large vacuoles and glias with active phagocytosis were observed. At 7 days after ischemia, the tissue was compact and many glias were found in the region. Most of the CA3 neurons had normal appearance after ischemia. A total of 5-10% CA3 neurons exhibited shrinking nuclei and chromatin aggregation at approximately 24 h reperfusion. The number of these neurons decreased overtime and disappeared at 72 h after ischemia. These results demonstrate the co-existence of necrosis and apoptosis in the CA1 region after transient forebrain ischemia. Most CA3 neurons remained intact after ischemia while a small portion of them showed apoptotic cell death.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Indiana University School of Medicine, 635 Barnhill Driver, 46202, Indianapolis, IN, USA.
authors.forename: Y S
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Zeng
authors.forename: Z C
authors.initials: ZC
authors.lastname: Xu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis; D002843:Chromatin / Q000378:metabolism / Q000648:ultrastructure; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D002546:Ischemic Attack, Transient / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008297:Male; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D009336:Necrosis; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar
chemical_list: D002843:Chromatin