Morphological Assessments of Global Cerebral Ischemia: Degenerated Cells
Abstract
Global cerebral ischemia (GCI) results in neurodegeneration in a variety of brain regions. Accumulated evidences suggest that DNA damages are involved in apoptotic cell death in cases of GCI. Klenow labeling assay, which detects single-strand DNA breaks, a relatively early event following the ischemic insult, serves as an effective approach to identify the degenerating cells. The terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick-end labeling assay, which labels apoptotic DNA fragmentation or double-strand DNA breaks, is also utilized to determine the degenerated cells after the GCI injury. Fluoro Jade staining is a method recently proved to identify the degenerated cells with unknown mechanisms. It has soon become a frequently used method for the GCI injury assessment because of its convenience of staining and ease of evaluation. In this chapter, the principles, labeling procedures, and interpretation approaches regarding these three methods are discussed.
Key words
Global cerebral ischemia Neurodegeneration Klenow TUNEL Fluoro JadeReferences
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