Fig. 5.

TNF-α induced apoptosis in cardiomyocytes of neonatal rat (RCM) through activation of p38 MAPK. RCM were pretreated with 5 μmol/L SB-203580 (SB, p38 MAPK inhibitor) or vehicle for 1 h before incubation with 50 ng/mL TNF-α for 30 min or 100 μmol/L sodium arsenite (SA) for 6 h. For inhibition of ROS, 1 mmol/L NAC or 5 μmol/L were added 2 h before H₂O₂ treatment. Then cells were lysed, and cytoplasmic histone-associated DNA fragments were determined by ELISA. Data are from 4 independent experiments and are expressed relative to control values; *P < 0.05 compared with control, ^#P < 0.05 compared with only TNF-α treated group, ^&P < 0.05