FIG. 4.

Effect of B. ratti WR1 on caspase-3 activity of IEC-6 cells. Caspase-3 activity was measured at the indicated time points as described in Materials and Methods. A significant increase in caspase-3 activity was observed in cells treated with live parasites, parasitic lysates, and positive control (0.25 μM staurosporin) after 6 and 12 h. Caspase-3 activity was gradually reduced at 24 h. Pretreatment of cells with caspase-3 inhibitor Z-DEVD-fmk reduced caspase-3 activity significantly. Values are means ± standard deviations (error bars) (n = 3 per group). The values were significantly different (P < 0.05) from the value for the negative control.