The effect of caspase-3 inhibition on interdigital tissue regression in explant cultures of developing mouse limbs

Interdigital tissue regression is one of the most well-known examples of embryonic programmed cell death, providing the mechanism behind separation of developing digits. Caspases have been shown to play a key part in this process, with activated caspase-3 localized between the developing digits. In caspase-3 knock-out adult mice, however, the digits are completely separated with no webbing. In other mutants with defects in the apoptotic machinery, such as Apaf1 deficient mice, interdigital tissue regression is initially inhibited but the webbing eventually disappears as alternative/additional cell death mechanisms step in. In order to investigate whether a similar temporal effect occurs after loss of caspase-3, we have used an in vitro approach to inhibit caspase-3 at specific times during digit separation. Previous limb explant culture approaches have encountered problems with proper limb development in culture, and thus a modified technique was used. The new approach enables detailed observation of the effects of caspase-3 inhibition on interdigital regression. Using these methods, we show that caspase-3 inhibition caused a delay in the loss of interdigital tissue compared with control explants, similar to that observed in Apaf1 mutant mice. Along with immunohistochemistry, active caspase-3 positive cells of the interdigital vs. digital regions were measured by flow cytometry. Notably, activated caspase-3 in vivo was found not only in the interdigital mesenchyme but also in the TUNEL negative digit region, supporting a role for caspase-3 in nonapoptotic events.