In Vivo Analysis of Apoptosis in Embryonic Hippocampus

Apoptosis is fundamental in several morphogenetic processes and ultimately determines the mass, shape, and function of the various tissues and organs that form the animal body. This process is a gene-regulated process that plays fundamental roles in several normal and pathological conditions. Apoptosis is most often detected during embryonic development. Although the nervous tissue is traditionally regarded as being fundamentally constituted by postmitotic nonproliferating cells, analysis of cell proliferation and apoptosis in vivo has recently gained an increasing importance mainly during embryonic development because there is large evidence that drug-induced apoptosis is the most likely candidate for the behavioral deficits. These effects occur at therapeutically relevant blood levels, and require only a relatively brief exposure. We describe here a of techniques that are currently for the detection of apoptotic cells in the central nervous system (CNS) directly on tissue sections in postnatal mice.