['With the identification of hypochlorous acid (HOCl) as a biomarker in diseased brains and endogenous detection of its modified proteins, HOCl might be implicated in the development of neurodegenerative disorders. However, its effect on neuronal cell death has not yet been investigated at gene expression level.', 'Therefore, DNA microarray was performed for screening of HOCl-responsive genes in primary mouse cortical neurons. Neurotoxicity caused by physiological relevant HOCl (250μM) exhibited several biochemical markers of apoptosis.', 'The biological processes affected during HOCl-mediated apoptosis included cell death, response to stress, cellular metabolism, and cell cycle. Among them, mRNAs level of cell death and stress response genes were up-regulated while expression of metabolism and cell cycle genes were down-regulated.'] Does temporal transcriptomic profiling reveal cellular targets that govern survival in HOCl-mediated neuronal apoptosis?