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Updated: Jul 28, 2026
08:37
Fluorescence Activated Cell Sorting (FACS) and Gene Expression Analysis of Fos-expressing Neurons from Fresh and Frozen Rat Brain Tissue
Published on: August 27, 2016
Quantitative neuronal c-fos and c-jun expression in Alzheimer's disease
D L Marcus1, J A Strafaci, D C Miller
1Department of Medicine, New York University Medical Center, NY 10016, USA.
Neurobiology of Aging
|January 8, 1999
Summary
Alzheimer's disease (AD) neurons show increased programmed cell death (apoptosis) linked to immediate early genes c-Jun and c-Fos. This study found higher c-Jun and c-Fos expression in AD brains, suggesting their role in AD neuropathology.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cell Biology
- Pathology
Background:
- Apoptosis (programmed cell death) is implicated in Alzheimer's disease (AD) neuropathology.
- Immediate early genes (IEGs) like c-jun and c-fos are crucial for initiating apoptosis.
- c-jun expression is induced in neurons undergoing beta-amyloid-induced apoptosis, suggesting a direct role in AD.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of c-Jun and c-Fos in neuronal apoptosis in Alzheimer's disease.
- To quantify the density of c-Jun and c-Fos positive neurons in specific hippocampal regions of AD patients.
Main Methods:
- Immunohistochemical analysis of postmortem brain samples from AD and age-matched non-AD patients.
- Quantification of neuronal profiles expressing c-Jun and c-Fos in hippocampal subregions (CA1, CA2/3, CA4).
- TUNEL technique used to assess apoptosis in cerebellar samples.
Main Results:
- Increased density of c-Jun-positive and c-Fos-positive neuronal profiles observed in most examined hippocampal regions of AD patients.
- No significant evidence of apoptosis or substantial c-Jun labeling in the cerebellum of AD patients.
Conclusions:
- The findings support a role for c-Jun and c-Fos in the apoptosis of neurons in Alzheimer's disease.
- Elevated expression of these immediate early genes in the AD hippocampus suggests their involvement in the disease's neuropathological mechanisms.
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