Figure 5.

Bax antisense (as Bax) but not scrambled oligodeoxynucleotides (sc Bax) block neutrophil apoptosis in vitro. (A) Cell death assay. Control neutrophils were cultured at the indicated conditions for 48 h before cell death was measured by flow cytometry. (Right) DNA fragmentation (black) was markedly reduced in as Bax-treated compared to sc Bax-treated neutrophils, suggesting delayed apoptosis in Bax-deficient cells. (B) Cell death assay. Control neutrophils were pretreated with GM-CSF for 32 h to reduce Bax levels (see Fig. 3A). Bax-deficient neutrophils were then cultured under the indicated conditions for an additional 48 h before cell death was measured by flow cytometry. (Right) DNA fragmentation (black) is markedly reduced in as Bax-treated compared to sc Bax-treated neutrophils, suggesting delayed apoptosis in neutrophils where Bax reexpression was prevented. Values in the cell death assays are means ± SEM of three independent experiments (*, P < 0.05).