Figure 3.

Effect of the Tp92 protein on the apoptosis of THP‐1 cells. A and B, Effect of different (A) concentrations and (B) durations of Tp92 treatment on the apoptosis of THP‐1 cells, as determined by flow cytometry. The cells were treated with (A) 0, 0.1, 5.0, 10.0, 15.0 or 20.0 μg/mL Tp92 for 12 hours or (B) 5.0 μg/mL Tp92 for 0, 2, 4, 8, 12 or 24 hours. C‐H, Effect of different (C, E, G) concentrations and (D, F, H) durations of Tp92 treatment on the activities of caspase‐3, ‐8 and ‐9. STS (0.1 μM) was also used to treat THP‐1 cells to study the activity of caspase‐3. *P < 0.05 compared with the control. I, Effect of caspase‐3 and caspase‐8 inhibitors on the apoptosis of THP‐1 cells. Cells were pretreated with the caspase‐3 inhibitor Z‐DEVD‐FMK (10 μM) or caspase‐8 inhibitor Z‐IETD‐FMK (1 μL/mL) for 1 hour and then treated with Tp92 (5 μg/mL) for 4 or 12 hours before measuring the apoptotic rate. *P < 0.05 compared with the Tp92 group. J, Effect of caspase‐3 and caspase‐8 inhibitors on the activities of caspase‐3 and caspase‐8. Cells were pretreated with Z‐DEVD‐FMK (10 μM) or Z‐IETD‐FMK (1 μL/mL) for 1 hour and then treated with Tp92 (5 μg/mL) for 12 hours before testing the activities of caspase‐3 and caspase‐8. *P < 0.05 compared with the Tp92 group