Figure 5.

AC induced apoptosis in melanoma cells. (a) A TUNEL assay was performed to determine AC-induced apoptosis by directly measuring DNA fragmentation. B16F10 and B16F1 cells exposed to AC (40–120 μg/mL) for 24 h. A histogram indicates the percentage of apoptotic-positive cells induced by AC. The results are presented as the mean ± S.D of three independent assays. *Significant difference in the control versus sample group (P < 0.05). (b) A Western blot analysis was performed to measure the expression levels of apoptotic-related proteins exposed to AC (40–120 μg/mL) 24 h. The effects of AC on the protein levels of mitochondrial and cytosolic cytochrome c, caspase-9, and -3, PARP, Bcl-2, Bax, and p53 in B16F1 and B16F10 cells were monitored with specific antibodies. The photomicrographs shown here are from one representative experiment repeated three times with similar results.