UC Davis

Apoptosis is a tightly controlled physiological process in which individual cells die without damaging neighboring healthy cells. Apoptosis is crucial for normal neurodevelopment, and altered patterns of apoptotic cell death of neurons and glial cells during development are associated with functional deficits. Experimental and clinical evidence has established that neurological insults, including chemical exposures, can induce aberrant apoptosis in the developing nervous system. This chapter will discuss chemical-induced apoptosis as a mechanism of developmental neurotoxicity. The goals are as follows: (1) provide an overview of the molecular mechanisms of apoptosis and its role in the normally developing nervous system, (2) discuss the evidence implicating inappropriate apoptosis in adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes, and (3) illustrate mechanisms by which neurotoxic chemicals modulate apoptosis using pediatric anesthesia, developmental exposures to polychlorinated biphenyls, and zinc dyshomeostasis as examples.