V. Castagne et Pgh. Clarke, AXOTOMY-INDUCED RETINAL GANGLION-CELL DEATH IN DEVELOPMENT - ITS TIMECOURSE AND ITS DIMINUTION BY ANTIOXIDANTS, Proceedings - Royal Society. Biological Sciences, 263(1374), 1996, pp. 1193-1197
Developing neurons die when deprived of trophic support from their axo
nal target. Although this is generally attributed to the programmed ex
pression of suicide proteins, recent data suggest that a less orderly
mechanism involving oxidative stress may also be involved. We have stu
died retinal ganglion cell death in the chick embryo after a contralat
eral tectal lesion. The kinetics of cell death, as judged from counts
of pyknotic cells, are described. In addition, we show that the pyknot
ic counts are reduced following intraocular injections of the protein
synthesis inhibitor cycloheximide or the antioxidants N-t-butyl-alpha-
phenylnitrone and N-acetyl cysteine. Our results suggest that target d
eprivation-induced ganglion cell death involves oxidative stress.