Fig. 5.

Initiation of apoptosis by β-alanine treatment. a Western blot analysis of procaspase 3 and cleaved caspase-3 content of whole homogenates of control and β-alanine-treated fibroblasts. The upper panel depicts a representative Western blot for procaspase-3 and cleaved caspase-3 content, with glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) serving as a loading control. Data in the lower panel represent mean ± S.E.M of four different preparations. The asterisk denotes a significant difference between control and β-alanine-treated fibroblasts (p < 0.05). b Western blot analysis of procaspase-9 content of whole homogenates of control and β-alanine-treated fibroblasts, with β-actin serving as a loading control. The upper panel depicts a representative gel of procaspase-9 content. Data in the lower panel represent mean ± S.E.M of four different preparations. The asterisk denotes a significant difference between the control and β-alanine-treated fibroblasts (p < 0.05). c. Control and β-alanine-treated fibroblasts were loaded with calcein AM (250 μM) Representative image of control and apoptotic, β-alanine-treated fibroblasts. Control fibroblasts appear elongated with a smooth cell surface, while the apoptotic fibroblasts treated for 48 h with β-alanine appear rounded with budding of apoptotic bodies. d Effect of cyclosporin A (200 nM) on percent of β-alanine-treated cardiomyocytes undergoing apoptosis