Figure 5.

Expression of apoptotic protein marker (Caspase-3) in SG after treatment with pilocarpine nanofiber mats after five culture days in the ex vivo SG model. (A) Fluorescence imaging after whole gland immunofluorescence staining showing expression of Caspase-3 in red (apoptotic marker), PNA in pink (staining the gland epithelial acini and ductal branched network) and nuclei in blue. (B) Apoptotic activity by quantification of Caspase-3 fluorescence after normalizing with nuclear counts. Error bars represent SD from n = 4. * p ˂ 0.05 when compared to positive control. Positive control (+ve CTL) was not treated with nanofiber mat and only had growth media. CTL (irradiated): gamma radiation treatment was used as a control for Caspase-3 staining since it induces apoptotic damage to the gland.