APOPTOSIS AND PROGRAMMED CELL-DEATH - A ROLE IN CEREBRAL-ISCHEMIA

Hypoxic-ischemic neuronal death has long been considered to represent necrosis, bur it now appears that many brain neurons undergo apoptosis after either global or focal ischemic insults. Recent studies demonst rated: 1) DNA cleavage into oligonucleosome-sized fragments demonstrat ed by a typical ladder pattern; 2) early endonuclease activation, as d emonstrated by the presence of high molecular weight DNA fragments (30 0 to 50 kbp); 3) chromatin condensation and apoptotic bodies formation ; 4) activation of apoptosis-associated proteins. These results may in dicate that apoptosis contributes to the development of the ischemic i nfarct and is probably substantially distinct from ischemia-triggered excitotoxicity, which tends to produce necrosis. (C) 1998 Elsevier, Pa ris.