神経細胞は何故死ぬのか?

発生と老化における神経細胞死のメカニズム

抄録

Mitubishi-kasei Institute of Life Sciences, Machida 194 and Graduate Program in Biological Sciences, Hokkaido University, Faculty of Science, Sapporo 060. Massive neuronal death occurring during development (naturally-occurring neuronal death) plays a pivotal role in sculpting the nervous system. The nuclear type of cell death, one of the three types of cell death found in vivo, shares several features common to apoptosis. Using cultured sympathetic neurons and neuronal PC12 cells. molecular nature of this mechanism has been extensively explored. This review summarizes recent advances in this study along with those of regulatory mechanisims including the role of intracellular Ca²⁺. The idea that neurons have an intrinsic suiside program has led us to hypothesize that collapse of homeostasis during senescence may activate this program as well. Proposed mechansim of neuronal death in Alzheimers disease is very intriguing in support of this notion.