Hippocampal neuronal apoptosis and the increased expression of caspase-8 and AIF after chronic alcoholism in rats

Objective To investigate hippocampal neuronal apoptosis and the expression of caspase-8 and AIF protein in the model rats after chronic alcoholism.Methods Forty-five male SD rats,which were eight weeks old,were divided into two groups randomly: control group(n=20)and alcohol group(n=25).The experiment adopted free drinking by increasing alcohol percentage gradually.Memory function of rats was detected by Morris water maze.Pathological changes were observed by HE staining,apoptosis cells and the expression of caspase-8 and AIF protein of each group were quantitatively examined by TUNEL and immunohistochemical method.Results In alcohol group,there are decrease and denaturalization of nerve cells in hippocampus.At the same time,the numbers of the neural apoptosis and the expression of caspase-8 and AIF protein in the alcohol group are higher than that of the control group(P0.01).Conclusion There are obviously neural apoptosis as well as the expression of caspase-8 and AIF protein in the rats hippocampus after chronic alcoholism.One of mechanisms of cerebral trauma in chronic alcoholism maybe through both caspase-dependent and caspase-independent pathways.