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. 1997 Nov;110(2):324–328. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2249.1997.tb08335.x

Quantification of Bax/Bcl-2 ratios in peripheral blood lymphocytes, monocytes and granulocytes and their relation to susceptibility to anti-Fas (anti-CD95)-induced apoptosis

H J J VAN DER VLIET *, P C WEVER *,†, F N J VAN DIEPEN *, S-L YONG *, I J M TEN BERGE *,†
PMCID: PMC2265491  PMID: 9367420

Abstract

Neutrophils have the shortest half-life among circulating leucocytes and rapidly undergo apoptosis in vitro. The homologous Bcl-2 and Bax proteins have opposing effects, with Bcl-2 extending cellular survival and Bax promoting cell death following an apoptotic stimulus. We determined Bcl-2 to Bax expression ratios in peripheral blood lymphocytes, monocytes and granulocytes and related them to the susceptibility of these cells to anti-Fas (anti-CD95)-induced apoptosis. Here, we show that Bax/Bcl-2 ratios are high in granulocytes and relatively low in monocytes and lymphocytes. Furthermore, we show a relation between this ratio in the different leucocyte subsets and their susceptibility to anti-Fas-induced apoptosis, with granulocytes showing the highest susceptibility, followed by monocytes and lymphocytes. It is concluded that the balance between Bcl-2 and Bax forms an apoptotic rheostat, which seems to determine sensitivity to apoptosis.

Keywords: Bcl-2, Bax, leucocyte subsets, apoptosis, Fas

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