ICE, NEURONAL APOPTOSIS AND NEURODEGENERATION

Significant progress has recently occurred in the understanding of the molecular mechanisms mediating vertebrate programmed cell death, or a poptosis. New advances in this field have stemmed from the identificat ion of ICE (caspase-1) as the founding member of the mammalian caspase cell death family. Apoptotic cell death plays an important role in ne uronal cell death. Both in vitro and in vivo evidence implicates ICE a s an important factor in neuronal apoptosis, especially under patholog ical conditions. In addition, other caspases, such as caspase-3, have also been shown to be activated and may play a role in pathological ne uronal loss. Understanding the basic mechanisms mediating cell death i n neurodegenerative disease may lead to the development of novel appro aches for the treatment of diseases featuring apoptosis.