Figure 5.

Flow cytometric analysis of FITC Annexin V staining. Primary cell cultures and cell lines (PC3) of prostate cancer were left untreated (Control; first panels at the left) or treated for 6 h with endocannabinoids at a concentration of 5 μM (second, third and fourth panels from the left). Cells were incubated with FITC Annexin V in a buffer containing propidium iodide (PI) and then analyzed by flow cytometry. Untreated cells were mostly FITC- and PI-negative which indicates that they were not undergoing any type of cell death process. After the 6-h treatment there were two different groups of cells: one composed of viable cells (FITC- and PI-negative, lower left quadrant) and one composed of cells undergoing apoptosis (FITC-positive and PI-negative, lower right quadrant). Another very small population of cells was observed to be both FITC- and PI-positive (upper right quadrant) which indicates that they were in the final stage of apoptosis or undergoing necrosis (n=3). Me, methanandamide; 2-AG, 2-arachidonoyl glycerol; Ana, anandamide.