Figure 5.

Apoptosis was prevented in T. vaginalis-treated SiHa cells after pretreatment with NAC. (a) DNA fragmentation was blocked in T. vaginalis-treated SiHa cells by pretreatment with NAC. Lane 1, DNA marker; lane 2, SiHa cell control, lane 3, live T. vaginalis (MOI 5); lane 4, T. vaginalis ESP (100 μg/mL); lane 5, T. vaginalis (MOI 5) + NAC (1 mM); lane 6, T. vaginalis ESP (100 μg/mL) + NAC (1 mM); lane 7, staurosporine (STS, 1 μM); lane 8, NAC (1 mM). (b) T. vaginalis-induced caspase 3 activation and PARP cleavage in SiHa cells were prevented by NAC pretreatment. (c) T. vaginalis-induced mitochondrial cytochrome c release of SiHa cells was prevented by NAC pretreatment. The experiment was repeated three times with similar results.