Adrenalectomy-induced apoptosis and glial responsiveness during ageing

Cell death by apoptosis occurs in mature neurones of adult rat dentate gyrus following adrenalectomy. In these studies, apoptosis in the dentate gyrus was induced 3 days after adrenalectomy in male Fischer 344 rats ranging in age from 2-3 to 24-26 months. Glial fibrillary acidic protein and transforming growth factor-beta 1 mRNAs were increased in dentate gyrus of all age groups after adrenalectomy, but there was no effect of age on these responses. Furthermore, corticosterone treatment in the drinking water of adrenalectomized rats prevented both cell death and increases in glial mRNAs in all age groups that were tested (up to 16-18 months). Therefore, adrenalectomy-induced apoptosis can be used to study mechanisms of cell death and survival in aged brain.