title: Cathepsin D gene expression outlines the areas of physiological cell death during embryonic development.
abstract: The implication of lysosomes in the activation of physiological cell death (PCD) was proposed some decades ago. In this work, we show that the expression of the lysosomal enzyme cathepsin D is up-regulated in developing tissues undergoing apoptosis. By comparing vital and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated deoxyuridinetriphosphate nick end-labeling (TUNEL) labeling patterns with in situ hybridization for this gene in a variety of tissues and organs, we show that this procedure constitutes a reliable technique to map the regions of PCD in the embryo. Using this methodological approach, we report the occurrence of two new areas of PCD in the developing limb.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Anatomía y Biología Celular, Universidad de Cantabria, Santander, Spain.
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Zuzarte-Luis
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Montero
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Torre-Perez
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Garcia-Porrero
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Hurle
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D002402:Cathepsin D / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D002642:Chick Embryo; D004847:Epithelial Cells / Q000201:enzymology / Q000378:metabolism; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D015971:Gene Expression Regulation, Enzymologic; D006321:Heart / Q000196:embryology; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D017403:In Situ Hybridization; D020287:In Situ Nick-End Labeling; D018878:Limb Buds / Q000166:cytology / Q000196:embryology / Q000201:enzymology; D008648:Mesoderm / Q000166:cytology / Q000201:enzymology / Q000378:metabolism; D009206:Myocardium / Q000166:cytology / Q000201:enzymology / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D002402:Cathepsin D