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. 2005 May 2;115(6):1607–1615. doi: 10.1172/JCI23223

Figure 2.

Figure 2

Role of caspases in pneumococcal PCD. Living pneumococci failed to activate caspase-3 and caspase-9. Staurosporine (ST) activated both caspases (A and C). PCW induced caspase-3 and caspase-8 activity (B and D; gray bars indicate PCW challenge; white bars indicate controls). AMC, 7-amino-4-methyl coumarin). Prot, protein. (E and F) According to Western blot analysis, in contrast to living pneumococci, staurosporine and PCW caused the cleavage of fodrin after exposure. (G) z-VAD-fmk (z-VAD), a broad-spectrum caspase inhibitor, and z-DEVD-cho (z-DEVD), a specific caspase-3 inhibitor, did not prevent PCD induced by living pneumococci (D39). Black bar: S. pneumoniae only. (H) Both inhibitors blocked PCD caused by PCW. Gray bar: PCW only. Data are presented as mean ± SD. *P < 0.05 (ANOVA and Student-Newman-Keuls test).