Fig. 2.

Effect of thiopental on activity of proteins related to apoptosis. (A) Effect of thiopental (50 µM) on Bcl-2 and Bax in hypoxia-reoxygenated cells. Western blot analysis of Bcl-2 and Bax. Each signal was quantified by scanning densitometry. (B) Effect of thiopental (50 µM) on apoptotic index in hypoxia-reoxygenated cells. The apoptotic index was determined by the number of positively stained apoptotic myocytes/total number of myocytes counted×100%. (C) Effect of thiopental (50 µM) on caspase-3 activity in hypoxia-reoxygenated cells. Relative caspase-3 activity was determined using the ApopTarget™ Capase-3. Data is presented as mean ± S.E.M. above 2 - 3 replicate measurements in 3 cell cultures (n = 7). Control: normal cardiomycytes. H/R: hypoxia-reoxygenated cardiomyocytes. ^*p < 0.05, ^**p < 0.01.