Figure 5

Phagocytosis of crystals or crystalline particles triggers their cytotoxicity. HK-2 cells were pretreated with the phagocytosis inhibitor cytochalasin D (Cyt D) (10 µM) 30 min before exposing to CaP (1 mg/ml), silica (1 mg/ml), TiO2 (0.5 mg/ml), cholesterol (3 mg/ml), CaOx (1 mg/ml), and MSU (0.5 mg/ml) for 24 hrs. (A) Cell death was visualized by PI stain (red color) and Acridine orange (green color). PI images were converted into black and white image for better visualization using ImageJ software. (B) Quantification of DNA-PI mean florescence intensity (MFI). Data are expressed as mean ± SEM from three independent experiments.