PMID- 10445074
OWN - NLM
STAT- MEDLINE
DCOM- 19990923
LR  - 20190905
IS  - 0365-5237 (Print)
IS  - 0365-5237 (Linking)
VI  - 540
DP  - 1999
TI  - Does TUNEL staining during peri- and post-natal development of the mouse inner 
      ear indicate apoptosis?
PG  - 22-6
AB  - Terminal deoxyribonucleotidyl transferase (TDT)-mediated dUTP-digoxigenin nick 
      end labelling (TUNEL) is being used more frequently to investigate programmed 
      cell death (PCD). We have applied this method in order to examine how PCD is 
      involved in the development of the mouse inner ear. In a series of studies, we 
      identified a population of TUNEL-positive cells in the perinatal mouse ear that 
      could not be regarded as apoptosis based upon morphological features of the 
      nuclei. Theoretically, TUNEL detects DNA fragmentation, which can also occur in 
      necrosis. Other authors regard TUNEL-positive cells in the sensory epithelia of 
      the rat equilibrium organs between gestational day (GD) 19 and 7 days after birth 
      (DAB) as apoptosis. We determined whether or not cells in the inner ear of 
      perinatal and post-natal mice were TUNEL-positive due to apoptosis. We stained 
      the inner ears of BALB/c mice aged GD17.5-4 weeks by the TUNEL method and 
      analysed morphology by light microscopy and transmission electron microscopy 
      (TEM). TUNEL-positive cells were distinct in the saccule from DAB3, and in the 
      cochlea from DAB8. The number of TUNEL-positive cells in the hair cells of the 
      saccule and in the cochlea increased with age, and seemed to reach a plateau just 
      before 2 weeks of age. However, morphological analyses did not reveal findings 
      characteristic of apoptosis. We conclude that these TUNEL-positive cells were 
      labelled not because of apoptosis, but due to necrosis or post-mortem autolysis. 
      We surmise that TUNEL staining can identify vulnerable cells of the inner ear 
      that consume high levels of oxygen and easily undergo autolysis.
FAU - Orita, Y
AU  - Orita Y
AD  - Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Okayama University Medical School, Japan.
FAU - Nishizaki, K
AU  - Nishizaki K
FAU - Sasaki, J
AU  - Sasaki J
FAU - Kanda, S
AU  - Kanda S
FAU - Kimura, N
AU  - Kimura N
FAU - Nomiya, S
AU  - Nomiya S
FAU - Yuen, K
AU  - Yuen K
FAU - Masuda, Y
AU  - Masuda Y
LA  - eng
PT  - Journal Article
PL  - Norway
TA  - Acta Otolaryngol Suppl
JT  - Acta oto-laryngologica. Supplementum
JID - 0370355
SB  - IM
MH  - Animals
MH  - *Apoptosis
MH  - Ear, Inner/*cytology/growth & development
MH  - In Situ Nick-End Labeling
MH  - Mice
MH  - Mice, Inbred BALB C
MH  - Microscopy, Electron
EDAT- 1999/08/13 00:00
MHDA- 1999/08/13 00:01
CRDT- 1999/08/13 00:00
PHST- 1999/08/13 00:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 1999/08/13 00:01 [medline]
PHST- 1999/08/13 00:00 [entrez]
AID - 10.1080/00016489950181143 [doi]
PST - ppublish
SO  - Acta Otolaryngol Suppl. 1999;540:22-6. doi: 10.1080/00016489950181143.