Skip to main content
. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2012 Aug 29.
Published in final edited form as: Free Radic Biol Med. 2011 Apr 7;51(1):38–52. doi: 10.1016/j.freeradbiomed.2011.04.002

Figure 7. Allopurinol blunts the increase in mitochondrial Bax that is elevated by electrically-evoked contractions in skeletal muscle from aged mice.

Figure 7

(A) Bax protein abundance was estimated by western blot analyses in homogenates from isolated mitochondria. These data suggest that Bax is greater in mitochondria from aged animals, but allopurinol removed any differences in mitochondrial Bax from young and aged animals. Electrically-evoked activity did not alter Bax abundance in mitochondria homogenates from young adult mice buit it blunted the increase in mitochondrial Bax in muscles from aged animals. (B) Bcl-2 protein abundance was estimated in homogenates from gastrocnemius muscles of control muscles and muscles after three days of electrically evoked contractions. Bcl-2 levels were similar in control muscles from young adult and aged mice. Repeated electrically-evoked isometric contractions reduced Bcl-2 levels similarly in muscle homogenates from young adult and aged animals. Data are presented for young control (YC), young electrically stimulated (Y-ES), aged control (AC) and aged electrically stimulated (A-ES) muscles, as mean ± SEM. The inserts show representative blots of mitochondrial Bax and Bcl-2. Ponceau S staining of the membranes confirmed equal loading and electrotransfer of the proteins from the gels to the membranes.