Early Regional Response of Apoptotic Activity in Newborn Piglet

Responses of selected neuroregulatory proteins that promote (Caspase 3 and Bax) or inhibit (Bcl-2, high Bcl-2/Bax ratio) apoptotic cell death were measured in the brain of piglets subjected to precisely controlled hypoxic and ischemic insults: 1 h hypoxia (decreasing FiO2 from 21 to 6%) or ischemia (ligation of carotid arteries and hemorrhage), followed by 0, 2 and 4 h recovery with 21 % FiO2. Protein expression was measured in cortex, hippo-campus and striatum by Western blot. There were no significant differences in expression of Caspase-3 between sham operated, hypoxic and ischemic groups. There were significant regional differences in expression of Bcl-