Expression of a specific marker of avian programmed cell death in both apoptosis and necrosis.

Apoptosis and necrosis are two types of cell death with different morphologic features. We report here the isolation of a monoclonal antibody, BV2, that specifically recognizes cells undergoing developmental programmed cell death in different tissues of the chicken and zebra-finch embryos. The antigen recognized by BV2 monoclonal antibody is detected in vitro in primary chicken embryonic fibroblasts induced to die by actinomycin D, as well as fibroblasts induced to die by chemical anoxia. The expression of this specific antigen during necrosis appears to require active protein synthesis. These findings provide evidence that cells from different embryonic tissues undergoing programmed cell death during vertebrate development express similar antigens and indicate that apoptosis and necrosis may share similar biochemical features.