Study on neuronal apoptosis and Bcl-2 gene expression after forebrain ischemia-reperfusion in rats

Objective To observe the changes of Bcl-2 expression in apoptosis of neurons and to investigate the molecular mechanism of apoptosis following forebrain cerebral ischemia-reperfusion. Methods Twenty-one male SD rats were randomly divided into 7 groups: control group,1,3,6,12,24,48 h after focal cerebral ischemia-reperfusion group. The neuronal apoptosis in the hippocampus after forebrain ischemia-reperfusion was detected by terminal deoxynuleotide transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) technique and the changes in Bcl-2 expression were determined using immunohistochemical method. Results The apoptotic cells in the hippocampus appeared at 6 h after forebrain ischemia-reperfusion,peaked at 24 h,and then decreased. Bcl-2 gene was positively expressed at 1 h and the expression reached its peak level at 12 h,and then declined to a lower level. Conclusion The expression of Bcl-2 protein plays a vital role in the process of neuronal apoptosis.