BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Ku70 and Ku86, multifunctional DNA repair proteins, bind to broken DNA ends, including double-strand breaks, and trigger a DNA repair pathway. To investigate the involvement of these proteins in DNA fragmentation after ischemia/reperfusion, Ku protein expression was examined before and after transient focal cerebral ischemia (FCI) in mice. METHODS Adult male CD-1 mice w...

We examined the hypothesis that activation of the apoptosis cascade occurs relatively early in diabetes mellitus affecting three distinct neuronal populations that are involved in regulating gut function: (i) dorsal root ganglion (DRG), (ii) vagus nodose ganglion and (iii) colon myenteric plexus. A validated streptozotocin-induced diabetic rat model and age-matched healthy controls were studied...

Objective: To study the feasibility of using combined morphology and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP-digoxigenin nick-end labeling (TUNEL) for apoptosis detection and the impact of cryopreservation on this process. Materials and methods: We conducted this investigation using a porcine animal model. Bilateral oophorectomy was performed in eight sows. The ovarian tissues were ...

PURPOSE To evaluate the importance of lens epithelial cell death in age-related cataract. To determine whether the large percentage of terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase (TdT)-mediated dUTP nick-end labeling (TUNEL)-positive lens epithelial cells previously reported in human capsulotomy specimens results from apoptosis or necrosis. METHODS Capsulotomy specimens from patients who had underg...

Hirschsprung’s disease is a congenital malformation characterized by the absence of enteric ganglia in distal intestine and gut obstruction. Our previous study indicates brain pathology during progression. A subpopulation patients also associated with anomalies central nervous system. In investigation, we studied rat model disease, known as spotting lethal (sl/sl) ETB-/- rats, which carries spo...

Numerous agents can damage the DNA of prokaryotes in the environment (e.g., reactive oxygen species, irradiation, and secondary metabolites such as antibiotics, enzymes, starvation, etc.). The large number of potential DNA-damaging agents, as well as their diverse modes of action, precludes a simple test of DNA damage based on detection of nucleic acid breakdown products. In this study, free 3'...

This study determined whether retinal degeneration during diabetes includes retinal neural cell apoptosis. Image analysis of retinal sections from streptozotocin (STZ) diabetic rats after 7.5 months of STZ diabetes identified 22% and 14% reductions in the thickness of the inner plexiform and inner nuclear layers, respectively (P < 0. 001). The number of surviving ganglion cells was also reduced...

Abstract Background Congenital heart disease is a leading cause of death in newborns and infants. The feasibility fetal cardiac surgery linked to extracorporeal circulation (ECC); therefore, cardioplegic solutions need be effective long-lasting. Methods Eighteen pregnant sheep were divided into an ECC-only group, St. Thomas’ Hospital solution (STH1) group (STH group), HTK preservation (Custodio...