Figure 2.
Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) induce the early apoptosis of leukemia and lymphoma cells. (A) Cells (1×105; A20 B lymphoma, FBL3 erythroleukemia and P388 acute lymphocytic leukemia cells) were cultured for 72 h alone or in the presence of MSCs at ratio of 1 MSC to 2 leukemia/lymphoma cells. The cells were then harvested and analyzed by Annexin V and propidium iodide (PI) double staining. (B) A20 cells (1×105) were cultured under 3 different conditions in 6-well plates for 72 h: with or without MSCs (ratio 1:1, respectively); some were physically separated from teh MSCs using a Transwell system. (C) p21 and caspase-3 mRNA expression in A20, FBL3, and P388 cells detected by RT-qPCR. p21 and caspase-3 mRNA expression was increased in the cells in co-culture relative to culture alone. The data are expressed as the means ± SD of 3 separate experiments. *P<0.05 indicates statistical significance.