Fig. 8. Representative bar diagram showing the relative mRNA expression level of apoptotic (caspase3 and cytochrome-c) and the ratio of apoptotic and anti-apoptotic (Bax and Bcl2) marker genes in DEHP (400 μM) and DEHP + NAC (5 mM) treated granulosa cells. Treatment of DEHP significantly increased the mRNA expression of Bax, caspase-3 and cytochrome-c and down-regulated the expression of Bcl2 gene in granulosa cells as compared to the control. However, supplementation of NAC along with DEHP rescues the higher expression level of apoptotic genes but not to a significant level as compared to the control. Three independent experiments were conducted to confirm the results. Data are presented as mean ± SEM of three independent experiments. The number of asterisks as superscripts shows the significant difference (p < 0.05) (control vs. DEHP and NAC + DEHP). The mRNA level was normalized with an endogenous reference of the GAPDH gene.
