Figure 3

Caspase activation. (a) Caspase 3 activation. Germ cells were cultured in the absence (−) and presence (+) of 5 ng/ml CXCL10 for the specific durations. The full lengths (35 kDa) of caspase 3 (Casp-3) and cleaved Casp-3 (17 kDa) in cell lysates were determined by western blot analysis. β-Actin was used as loading controls. Signal densities were quantified by densitometry (right panel). (b) Caspase 8 activation. Germ cells were treated as described in (a), full length and cleavage of Casp-8 were determined by western blot analysis. (c) Inhibition of Casp-3 activation. Germ cells were treated with CXCL10 or with CXCL10 in the presence of 10 μM DEVD-fmk, an inhibitor of Casp-3 activation, for 8 h. Casp-3 was determined by western blot analysis. (d) Germ cell apoptosis. Germ cells were cultured in the presence of CXCL10 along (left panel) or in the presence of CXCL10 and DEVD-fmk (right panel) for 24 h. Apoptotic cells were labeled with AnxV-FITC and analyzed using flow cytometry. Images are the representatives of at least three independent experiments. Data of flow cytometry are the means±S.E.M. of three experiments. **P<0.01