Figure 6.

The increased cytotoxic effect and engulfment capacity of activated macrophages is reduced by hemin. (A) Cytotoxic effect of macrophages and activated macrophages against A375 cells, in the absence or presence of 10 µM hemin for 72 h. A375 cells were counted using Harmony software (Perkin Elmer), by identifying the cells at 655 nm using a confocal imaging system. (B) Engulfment of A375 cells by macrophages and activated macrophages against A375 cells, in the absence or presence of 10 µM hemin for 72 h. (C) Engulfed A375 cells by activated macrophages were identified as disrupted cells at 655 nm using a confocal imaging system. Nuclei of macrophages and A375 cells were identified through Hoechst (at 405 nm). Values with different superscript letters (a and b) indicate significant differences (p < 0.05) between groups. For all bars with the same letter, the difference between the means is not statistically significant.