title: Roles of caspases in the programmed cell death of motoneurons in vivo.
abstract: Cysteine proteases comprising the caspase family have been considered one of the major executioners of programmed cell death. However, detailed analyses of the programmed cell death of developing motoneurons in mice following the genetic deletion of two key caspases, casp-3 and casp-9, and in the chick embryo following treatment with caspase inhibitors, indicate that normal amounts of cell loss occur although the death process is delayed. Motoneurons undergoing programmed cell death without caspase activities exhibit a nonapoptotic morphology in which nuclear changes such as chromatin condensation are absent or reduced and which exhibit extensive cytoplasmic vacuolization such as is rarely observed in degenerating control neurons. These results suggest that caspases are involved in, but are not indispensable for, the developmental death of motoneurons, and that one function of caspases may be to facilitate the removal of cells that are destined to die. Possible alternative caspase-independent pathways for the programmed death of motoneurons are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, School of Medicine, Fukushima Medical University, Japan. h-yaginm@fmu.ac.jp
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yaginuma
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sato
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Homma
authors.forename: R W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Oppenheim
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000502:physiology*; D051033:Apoptosis Inducing Factor; D001343:Autophagy / Q000502:physiology; D053148:Caspase 3; D053453:Caspase 9; D020169:Caspases / Q000502:physiology*; D002642:Chick Embryo; D003598:Cytoskeletal Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D005420:Flavoproteins / Q000378:metabolism; D007700:Kinetics; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D051379:Mice; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D009046:Motor Neurons / Q000502:physiology*; D009842:Oligopeptides / Q000737:chemistry*; D015398:Signal Transduction
chemical_list: D051033:Apoptosis Inducing Factor; D003598:Cytoskeletal Proteins; D005420:Flavoproteins; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D009842:Oligopeptides; C494830:AIFM1 protein, mouse; C099158:acetyl-aspartyl-glutamyl-valyl-aspartal; C505409:Casp3 protein, mouse; C506434:Casp9 protein, mouse; D053148:Caspase 3; D053453:Caspase 9; D020169:Caspases