title: Serum-free induced neuronal apoptosis-like cell death is independent of caspase activity.
abstract: Cultured cortical neurons survived in a density-dependent manner under serum-free conditions. Low-density cultured cells died in an aurintricarboxylic acid (ATA)-sensitive manner, which was accompanied with marked chromatin condensation and nuclear fragmentation. These features, characteristic for apoptosis, were not attenuated by DEVD-CHO, a caspase-3-specific inhibitor, or zVAD-FMK, a broad range caspase inhibitor, while zVAD-FMK showed a marked inhibition of camptothecin-induced cell death. Therefore, cortical neurons died in an apoptosis-like and a caspase-independent manner under serum-free conditions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Neuroscience, Nagasaki University School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Nagasaki 852-8521, Japan.
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Hamabe
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Fukushima
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Yoshida
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ueda
mesh_terms: D000590:Amino Acid Chloromethyl Ketones / Q000494:pharmacology; D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D061945:Caspase Inhibitors; D020169:Caspases / Q000378:metabolism*; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000166:cytology; D016895:Culture Media, Serum-Free / Q000494:pharmacology; D015853:Cysteine Proteinase Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology; D053938:DNA Fragmentation / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D009474:Neurons / Q000166:cytology* / Q000201:enzymology*; D009842:Oligopeptides / Q000494:pharmacology; D051381:Rats
chemical_list: D000590:Amino Acid Chloromethyl Ketones; D061945:Caspase Inhibitors; D016895:Culture Media, Serum-Free; D015853:Cysteine Proteinase Inhibitors; D009842:Oligopeptides; C108637:aspartyl-glutamyl-valyl-aspartal; C096713:benzyloxycarbonylvalyl-alanyl-aspartyl fluoromethyl ketone; D020169:Caspases