ArticleThe Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience2008
Caspase inhibitor infusion protects an avian song control circuit from seasonal-like neurodegeneration.
Article in The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience, 2008. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 19 papers.
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Who cites it
19 citing papers in PubMed, 30 citations in OpenAlex.
- A daily rhythm of cell proliferation in a songbird brain.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Systematic Review of the Therapeutic Role of Apoptotic Inhibitors in Neurodegeneration and Their Potential Use in Schizophrenia.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Review
- Rapamycin blocks the neuroprotective effects of sex steroids in the adult birdsong system.Developmental neurobiology · 2019Article
- Seasonal changes in neuronal turnover in a forebrain nucleus in adult songbirds.The Journal of comparative neurology · 2019Article
- Sex Steroids, Adult Neurogenesis, and Inflammation in CNS Homeostasis, Degeneration, and Repair.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2018Review
- Retinal cell death dependent reactive proliferative gliosis in the mouse retina.Scientific reports · 2017Article
- Adult Neurogenesis Leads to the Functional Reconstruction of a Telencephalic Neural Circuit.The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience · 2016Article
- Network analysis of microRNA and mRNA seasonal dynamics in a highly plastic sensorimotor neural circuit.BMC genomics · 2015Article
- Neurogenesis in the adult avian song-control system.Cold Spring Harbor perspectives in biology · 2015Review
- Transsynaptic trophic effects of steroid hormones in an avian model of adult brain plasticity.Frontiers in neuroendocrinology · 2015Review
- Reactive neurogenesis in response to naturally occurring apoptosis in an adult brain.The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience · 2014Article
- Caspase inhibition in select olfactory neurons restores innate attraction behavior in aged Drosophila.PLoS genetics · 2014Article
- Estrogen inhibits lipid peroxidation after hypoxic-ischemic brain damage in neonatal rats.Neural regeneration research · 2012Article
- Article
- Neuroprotective effects of testosterone in a naturally occurring model of neurodegeneration in the adult avian song control system.The Journal of comparative neurology · 2010Article
- The relationship of neurogenesis and growth of brain regions to song learning.Brain and language · 2010Review
- Estrogen induces caspase-dependent cell death during hypothalamic development.The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience · 2009Article
- Neurogenesis in an adult avian song nucleus is reduced by decreasing caspase-mediated apoptosis.The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience · 2009Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
2 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Sex steroids such as androgens and estrogens have trophic effects on the brain and can ameliorate neurodegeneration, and the withdrawal of circulating steroids induces neurodegeneration in several hormone-sensitive brain areas. Very little is known about the underlying molecular mechanisms that mediate neuronal regression caused by hormone-withdrawal, however. Here we show that reduction of programmed cell death by local infusion of caspase inhibitors rescues a telencephalic nucleus in the adult avian song control system from neurodegeneration that is induced by hormone withdrawal. This treatment also has trans-synaptic effects that provide some protection of an efferent target region. We found that unilateral infusion of caspase inhibitors in vivo in adult white-crowned sparrows rescued neurons within the hormone-sensitive song nucleus HVC (used as a proper name) from programmed cell death for as long as seven days after withdrawal of testosterone and a shift to short-day photoperiod and that the activation of caspase-3 was reduced by 59% on average in the ipsilateral HVC compared with the unmanipulated contralateral HVC. Caspase inhibitor infusion near HVC was sufficient to preserve neuron size ipsilaterally in a downstream nucleus, the robust nucleus of the arcopallium. This is the first report that sustained local application of caspase inhibitors can protect a telencephalic brain area from neurodegeneration in vivo and that a degenerating neural circuit rescued with caspase inhibitors produces sufficient trophic support to protect attributes of a downstream target that would otherwise degenerate. These results strengthen the case for the possible therapeutic use of caspase inhibitors under certain neurodegenerative conditions.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.