Ghrelin plays an antiapoptotic effect after LPS insults in EA.hy 926 cells.A, representative image of TUNEL assay in LPS-treated cells at 24 h. Apoptotic cells are quantified by counting the percentages of TUNEL-positive nuclei. B, detection of early and late apoptosis of cells after 24-h treatment with LPS was analyzed with Annexin V-FITC and PI staining through the flow cytometer. C and D, quantitative analysis of the ratios of apoptotic cells is shown in the bar graphs. Both the TUNEL assay and flow cytometer demonstrated that addition of ghrelin diminished the ratios of TUNEL-positive cells and apoptotic cells under LPS insult condition. E, Western blot analysis shown that ghrelin increased the level of antiapoptotic protein Bcl-2 under LPS exposure, as well as reduces the level of proapoptotic protein Bax. F, quantification of Bcl-2 and Bax expression by densitometric analysis. Data are presented as the mean ± SEM, n = 4, ∗p < 0.05 compared with the control group, #p < 0.05 compared with the LPS group. LPS, lipopolysaccharide; PI, propidium iodide.