Smeyne R J, Vendrell M, Hayward M, Baker S J, Miao G G, Schilling K, Robertson L M, Curran T, Morgan J I
Department of Neuroscience, Roche Research Center, Nutley, New Jersey 07110.
Nature. 1993 May 13;363(6425):166-9. doi: 10.1038/363166a0.
The development of a multicellular organism involves a delicate balance among the processes of proliferation, differentiation and death. Naturally occurring cell death aids tissue remodelling, eliminates supernumerary cell populations and provides structural elements such as hair and skin. In the nervous system, selective cell death contributes to the formation and organization of the spinal cord and sympathetic ganglia, retina and corpus callosum. But cell death also occurs in several neuropathological conditions, such as amyelotrophic lateral sclerosis and Alzheimer's disease. Therefore an elucidation of the mechanisms responsible for cell death is critical for an appreciation of both normal development and neuropathological disorders. Using a fos-lacZ transgenic mouse, we provide evidence showing that the continuous expression of Fos, beginning hours or days before the morphological demise of the cell, appears to be a hallmark of terminal differentiation and a harbinger of death.
多细胞生物体的发育涉及增殖、分化和死亡过程之间的微妙平衡。自然发生的细胞死亡有助于组织重塑，消除多余的细胞群体，并提供毛发和皮肤等结构成分。在神经系统中，选择性细胞死亡有助于脊髓、交感神经节、视网膜和胼胝体的形成和组织。但细胞死亡也发生在一些神经病理状况中，如肌萎缩侧索硬化症和阿尔茨海默病。因此，阐明细胞死亡的机制对于理解正常发育和神经病理紊乱都至关重要。利用一种fos-lacZ转基因小鼠，我们提供的证据表明，在细胞形态消亡前数小时或数天开始的Fos持续表达，似乎是终末分化的标志和死亡的先兆。
