Immunohistochemical localization of c-fos in the nuclei of the medulla oblongata in relation to asphyxia

Abstract

The immediately early gene product c-fos is known to be induced in neurons under noxious stimuli. Therefore, the immunohistochemistry of c-fos expression in human brains might offer information on the localization of stimulated neurons. In this study, the immunohistochemical localization of c-fos was studied in the neurons of the hypoglossal nucleus (XII), the dorsal motor nucleus of the vagal nerve (X), the nucleus solitarius (Sol), the accessory cuneate nucleus (Cun), the spinal trigeminal nucleus (V) and the inferior olive (Oli) of the human medulla oblongata from forensic autopsy cases. The neurons in the X nucleus showed the highest percentage of positive reactions for c-fos, followed in descending order by the Cun, V, Oli, XII and Sol. The c-fos immunoreactivity in the Cun and X was statistically significantly higher than in the Sol, XII and Oli. Although neurons in the Sol are known to be involved in respiration, there was no statistically significant difference in the c-fos immunoreactivity in the neurons in the Sol between asphyxia and non-asphyxia cases. On the other hand, the percentage of neurons positive for the c-fos immunoreactivity was statistically significantly higher in the Oli of asphyxia cases than of non-asphyxia cases. Our results indicate the difference in the immunoreactivity of c-fos among the nuclei of the human medulla oblongata and that the c-fos immunoreactivity in the Oli might assist the diagnosis of asphyxia.

Intranuclear ubiquitin immunoreactivity in the pigmented neurons of the substantia nigra in fire fatalities

“…Changes in these proteins and related acute reactants have been studied by the immunohistochemical and biochemical methods in fire fatalities [15,16,17], brain injury [18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28], asphyxia [9] and sudden infant death [29,30]. No studies have been undertaken of the central nervous system (CNS) in fire deaths.…”

“…Heat shock proteins, including ubiquitin, rapidly respond to various types of stress [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14]. Changes in these proteins and related acute reactants have been studied by the immunohistochemical and biochemical methods in fire fatalities [15,16,17], brain injury [18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28], asphyxia [9] and sudden infant death [29,30].…”

Cerebellar Purkinje cell vulnerability to prenatal nicotine exposure in sudden unexplained perinatal death

“…We observed in fact in 34% of the SIUDS/SIDS cases, developmental alterations of all these structures. Furthermore, likewise to PCs, also the inferior olivary nucleus and the dentate nucleus may play a critical role in modulating the respiratory pattern [17,33,38,44].…”

Hyperventilation evoked by activation of the vicinity of the caudal inferior olivary nucleus depends on the fastigial nucleus in anesthetized rats

“…Second, a specific neuronal loss in the IO was found in infants with severe perinatal asphyxia (36). Third, a tremendous alteration of c-Fos immunoreactivity was found in the IO of asphyxia rather than nonasphyxia cases, with the effects more specific than in any other region related to respiration (29). Expression of the fos gene in neuronal nuclei has been proposed to reflect second-messenger activation and, hence, serves as a sensitive indicator of cellular responses induced by various stimuli.…”