Investigators from Russian Academy of Sciences Have Reported New Data on Effector Caspases (Central Responses To Peripheral Inflammation May Include Decreased Expression of Key Apoptotic Protease Caspase-3 In the Brainstem).

Researchers from the Russian Academy of Sciences have conducted a study on the relationship between microglia activation and cell death regulators in the brain. They found that a single administration of lipopolysaccharide (LPS), a proinflammatory stimulus, did not significantly affect the expression of Iba-1 and caspase-3, proteins associated with microglia activation and apoptosis, respectively. However, multiple administrations of LPS led to an increase in Iba-1 expression and a decrease in caspase-3 expression in the brainstem. The researchers suggest that this decrease in caspase-3 expression may indicate the development of adaptive neuroprotective processes in the brainstem. [Extracted from the article]