Home | Help | Feedback | Subscriptions | Archive | Search | Table of Contents

This Article Full Text (PDF, 535K) PPT slides of all figures Alert me when this article is cited Services Email this article Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new content in the JCB Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via CrossRef Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by LeBrasseur, N. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by LeBrasseur, N. Related Collections Related Article Social Bookmarking                            What's this?

© The Rockefeller University Press, 0021-9525/2003/12/927 $8.00
The Journal of Cell Biology, Volume 163, Number 5, 927-927

Neurons die one way or another

Mitochondria are intact in neurons dying from GDNF deprivation.

On page 987, Yu et al. identify a novel cell death pathway that bypasses mitochondria. The results indicate that various strategies exist to kill off neurons.

A lot of the killing of sympathetic neurons occurs in the first week after birth. During that paring period, 50% of sympathetic neurons die due to a lack of nerve growth factor (NGF). Neurons deprived of NGF in vitro die through the classical cell death pathway, which includes the release of cytochrome c from mitochondria and the resulting activation of caspases. Other factors can also promote neuronal survival, but it now seems that the method used to kill cells after withdrawal of these factors is not the same.

Yu et al. find that depriving sympathetic neurons in vitro of GDNF kills cells without mitochondrial involvement. Different caspases were activated than in NGF-dependent neurons, cytochrome c was not released, and mitochondrial structure was maintained in GDNF-deprived neurons.

Initiation of this pathway probably involves the GDNF receptor Ret, which may activate caspase-2 when GDNF is absent. Whether certain neurons depend solely on GDNF for survival in vivo remains to be seen. Perhaps the mitochondria-independent pathway is only a back-up in case the main system fails. But if death pathways are factor- and cell type–specific, some neuronal death might be blocked selectively by interfering with one but not another death pathway.

Nicole LeBrasseur

lebrasn{at}rockefeller.edu

CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Facebook    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

Related Article

GDNF-deprived sympathetic neurons die via a novel nonmitochondrial pathway

Li-Ying Yu, Eija Jokitalo, Yun-Fu Sun, Patrick Mehlen, Dan Lindholm, Mart Saarma, and Urmas Arumäe
J. Cell Biol. 2003 163: 987-997. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

This Article Full Text (PDF, 535K) PPT slides of all figures Alert me when this article is cited Services Email this article Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new content in the JCB Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via CrossRef Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by LeBrasseur, N. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by LeBrasseur, N. Related Collections Related Article Social Bookmarking                            What's this?