Figure 4.

Cell death after kainate treatment is caused in part by increased apoptosis. A, Effect of the caspase inhibitor Boc-D-FMK on kainate-induced neurodegeneration. Double transgenic tTA/hIκBα-AA hippocampal slices were pretreated for 1 hr with 100 μm Boc-D-FMK and then stressed for 8 hr with 500 μm KA. Overviews of representative slices are shown on the left. Higher magnification views of the corresponding CA3 regions scored for dead cells are on the right. Neuronal damage was visualized by red PI fluorescence imaging. GD, Dentate gyrus; CA1, hippocampal region CA1; CA3, hippocampal region CA3. B, Quantification of the effect of Boc-D-FMK treatment in the CA3 region.