Study on the Bcl-2 Expression in Korean Fetal Development Using a Tissue-array Technique

Yoo, Young Bok; Lee, Young Il; Lee, Byung Lan

Abstract

Apoptosis is a genetically programmed cell death that is required for morphogenesis during embryogenic development and for tissue homeostasis in adult organisms. Although apoptosis is important in the development, expression of apoptosis-related genes has been studied mostly in the cancers and neurodegenerative diseases. We intended to obtain the basic data in order to understand the role of the apoptosis-related genes including bcl-2 in the apoptosis in the human development. Immunohiostochemistry for Bcl-2 was performed using Korean fetal lung, kidney, thymus, placenta, testis, small intestine, pancrease, skin, urinary bladder tissues in the 14~30 weeks of the human development. Our results showed that Bcl-2 appeared in early stages of human development in the lung, kidney, thymus, placenta, small intestine, pancreas. As differentiation grew, expression of Bcl-2 decreased and had the tendency of localizing in the bronchial epitheliums, tubular epitheliums, Bowman's epithelium, lymphocytes, synchytial trophoblasts, intestinal epitheliums, ganglionic cells, ductal epitheliums of pancreas. We suggested that in the early stages when differentiation didn't occur cell death was suppressed, in the late stages when differentiation was achieving cell death increased to remove the innecessary portions of the organs to protect the specific cells of the organs having functions. For the efficiency of the experiment, a high-throughput technique, a tissue-array method was applied which contributed to save time, money and labor without performance errors. Tissue-array technique will be useful to fasten the developmental studies.