Fig. 4.

Inhibition of lysosomal function leads to increased cell death upon high Zn²⁺ exposure. (A) Caspase-3 (Cas3) activity assay showing increased Cas3 activation upon a 48-hour 100 µM ZnCl₂ and 1 µM Baf treatment in HeLa cells. A 3-hour long exposure to 1 µM staurosporine was used as a positive control, which increased Cas3 activity by 796.72%±109.06 (n = 3, P<0.001). Cas3 activity is shown as AMC fluorescence and a percentage of untreated controls. Results are mean±s.e.m.; *P<0.05. (B) Flow cytometry data showing increased AnnV staining of cells treated with 100 µM ZnCl₂ and/or 1 µM Baf for 48 hours. Data represent three experiments.