ABSTRACT

After a short outline of apoptosis, its triggering pathways and its regulation by genes/proteins, the occurrence and significance of apoptotic nuclei in brain neuroepithelial tumors is discussed. Direct and indirect detection of apoptotic nuclei in tumors is debated, also in the line of the many problems which have to be faced in the demonstration of apoptotic nuclei in histological sections. In brain tumors apoptosis has been studied mainly in relation with prognosis. In comparison with the poor possibility to correlate apoptosis, as evidenced in tissues, with therapies, there is a tremendous amount of observations in cultures on cell lines. Most of them concern the induction of apoptosis by drugs supposed provided with anti-tumor activity or by manipulation of genes/proteins involved in the pathways to or in the regulation of apoptosis. Some observations can represent a good basis for the development of therapeutical strategies and some of them have been tested on animals or animal models.