Genomic analysis of transcriptional changes underlying neuronal apoptosis.

Neuronal apoptosisapoptosis represents an intrinsic suicide program, by which a neuronneuron orchestrates its own destruction. Although engagement of apoptosis requires transcriptiontranscription and protein synthesisprotein synthesis , the complete spectrum of genesgenes involved in distinct temporal domains remained unknown until the advent of genomicsgenomics . In the last 10 years, the genome sequences and the developmentdevelopment of high-throughput genomic technologiesgenomic technologies , such as DNA microarraysDNA microarrays , have offered the unprecedented experimental opportunities to explore the transcriptional mechanisms underlying apoptosis from a new systems-level perspective. This review goes over this genomic approach and illustrates the use of microarraymicroarray methodology to dissecting the multigenic program underlying neuronal apoptosis.