Abstract
The spatial and temporal distributions of programmed cell death (PCD) in developing central nervous system (CNS) of human fetuses ranging from 12 to 39 weeks of gestation were investigated using techniques of flow cytometry and terminal transferase-mediated nick end labeling (TUNEL). The results showed that PCD did occur in every representative brain region of all fetuses examined in different stages. It was found that there were two peaks of PCD appearing at the 12th and 39th weeks respectively, which suggested that the first peak of apoptosis may be involved in the selective elimination of neurons overproduced during the early development and the second may play an important role in establishing the correct neuronal circuitry.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Naruse, I., Keino, H., Apoptosis in developing CNS, Progress in Neurobiology, 1995, 47(2): 135.
Li, Z. G., Cai, W. Q., Chan, W. Y., Development of neural tube and programmed cell death, Progress of Anatomical Sciences, 1999, 5(3): 222.
Homma, S., Yaginuma, H., Oppenheim, R. W., Programmed cell death during the earliest stages of spinal cord development in the chick embryo: A possible means of early phenotypic selection, J. Comp. Neurol., 1994, 345(3): 377.
Chan, W. Y., Yew, D. T., Apoptosis and Bcl-2 oncoprolein expression in the human fetal central nervous system, Anat. Rec., 1998, 252(2): 165.
Gu, H. Y., Development of the Chinese Fetuses and Prevention for Malformation, 1st ed., Shanghai: Press of Shanghai University for Medical Science, 1994, 173–184.
Levinsson, A., Luo, X. L., Holmberg, H. et al., Developmental tuning in a spinal nociceptive system: Effects of neonatal spinalization, J. Neurosci., 1999, 19(23): 10379.
Ferrer, I., Bernel, E., Soriano, E. et al., Naturally occuring cell death in the cerebral cortex of the rat and removal of dead cells by transitory phagocytes. Neuroscience, 1999, 39(2): 451.
Ferrer, I., Tortosa, A., Blanco R. et al., Naturally occuring cell death in the developing cerebral cortex of the rat: Evidence of apoptosis associated inlernucleosomal DNA fragmentation, Neurosci. Lett., 1994, 182(1): 77.
Oppenheim, R.W., Cell death during development of the nervous system, Annu. Rev. Neurosci., 1991, 14: 453.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
About this article
Cite this article
Li, Z., Cai, W. & Chan, W.Y. Programmed cell death in developing human fetal CNS. Chin.Sci.Bull. 45, 2082–2084 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03183531
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03183531