Caspase activity is involved in, but is dispensable for, early motoneuron death in the chick embryo cervical spinal cord

We examined the role of caspases in the early programmed cell death (PCD) o f motoneurons (MNs) in the chick embryo cervical cord between embryonic day (E) 4 and E5. An increase in caspase-3-like activity in MNs was observed a t E4.5. Treatment with an inhibitor of caspase-3-like activity, Ac-DEVD-CHO , for 12 h blocked this increase and revealed that caspase-3-like activity is mainly responsible for DNA fragmentation and the nuclear changes during PCD but not for degenerative changes in the cytoplasm. When a more broad-sp ectrum caspase inhibitor was used (bocaspartyl (OMe)-fluoromethyl ketone, B AF), the appearance of degenerative changes in the cytoplasm was delayed by at least 12 h. However, following treatment with either Ac-DEVD-CHO or BAF for 24 h, the number of surviving healthy MNs did not differ from controls , indicating a normal occurrence of PCD despite the inhibition of caspases. These results suggest that caspase cascades that occur upstream of and are independent of the activation of caspase-3-like activity are responsible f or the degenerative changes in the cytoplasm of dying cervical MNs. These d ata also suggest that, although one function of caspases may be to facilita te the kinetics of PCD, caspases are nonetheless dispensable for at least s ome forms of normal neuronal PCD in vivo.