Figure 2.

Characterization of Bcl-2-DPSCs. (A) Cell proliferation rates of Bcl-2-DPSCs and GFP-DPSCs as shown by Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) assay. Except at day 4, no significant difference was observed between the two groups. (B) Apoptosis in cultures of Bcl-2-DPSCs and GFP-DPSCs in the presence and absence of serum. Bcl-2-DPSCs demonstrated significantly lower apoptotic levels compared to GFP-DPSCs at all the time points under both conditions. Under serum starvation, the difference was markedly increased. (C) Caspase-3 activity in Bcl-2-DPSCs and GFP-DPSCs in the presence and absence of serum. Caspase-3 levels were significantly lower in Bcl-2-DPSCs in serum-free condition compared to that of GFP-DPSCs. * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01versus the corresponding controls.