Volume 5 Issue 1, June 1995: 59-65
ORIGINAL ARTICLES
Thapsigargin increases apoptotic cell death in human hepatoma BEL-7404 cells
GU JUN, HE LIU, TAO FU, YONGHUA XU
Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Naval Medical Research Institute, Shanghai 200433, China
Correspondence: YONGHUA XU
Efects of thapsigargin, an inhibitor of Ca2+-ATPase in surface of endoplasmic reticulum, on apoptotic cell death were studied in human hepatoma cells of BEL-7404 cell line by using both flow cytometry and electron microscopy. Propidium iodide staining and flow cytometry revealed that in the serum-free condition, thapsigargin increased the rate of apoptosis of BEL-7404cells in a dose-dependent manner. Prolongation of the period of serum-free condition enhanced the apoptosis induced by thapsigargin treatment. Morphological observation with electron microscope further demonstrated that chromatin condensation and fragmentation, apoptotic bodies existed in YG-treated cells, supporting that thapsigargin is a potent activator of apoptosis in the cells.
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