title: Caspase-3 and survivin expression in pediatric neuroblastoma and their roles in apoptosis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Neuroblastoma, one of the common tumors in children, possesses the feature of natural regression that might be related to apoptosis caspase-3 and survivin are believed to respectively induce and inhibit apoptosis. We investigated the expression of caspase-3 and survivin in pediatric neuroblastoma and the role that these genes played in apoptosis.
  
  
  METHODS
  The expression of caspase-3 and survivin in pediatric neuroblastoma tissue samples was detected using in situ hybridization, ter mintuesal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick-end labeling (TUNEL), and immunohistochemical staining. The role that these genes played in apoptosis was then evaluated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A converse correlation was observed between the expression of survivin and caspase-3. When survivin was expressed at high levels in neuroblastoma samples, caspase-3 expression was downregulated, and the apoptotic index decreased simultaneously.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There is a converse correlation between the expression of caspase-3 and the expression of survivin in neuroblastoma cells, indicating that caspase-3 might induce apoptosis, and survivin may inhibit this process.
authors.affiliation: Cancer Institute, Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310009, China.
authors.forename: Jia-xiang
authors.initials: JX
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Shu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zheng
mesh_terms: D017209:Apoptosis; D053148:Caspase 3; D020169:Caspases / Q000032:analysis* / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D051034:Inhibitor of Apoptosis Proteins; D008297:Male; D008869:Microtubule-Associated Proteins / Q000032:analysis* / Q000502:physiology; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins; D009447:Neuroblastoma / Q000737:chemistry / Q000473:pathology*; D000077022:Survivin
chemical_list: C107489:BIRC5 protein, human; D051034:Inhibitor of Apoptosis Proteins; D008869:Microtubule-Associated Proteins; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins; D000077022:Survivin; C505407:CASP3 protein, human; D053148:Caspase 3; D020169:Caspases