Fig. 2.

Apoptotic effects in lung cells of rats exposed to a once-daily dose of Pb for 3 days. A The percentage of apoptotic rat lung cells after 3 days of treatment of Pb (25, 50, and 100 mg/kg, b.w.) was determined by flow cytometry using annexin V/PI as substrates. One of the three representative experiments from different cell preparations was only shown. The values are presented as mean (n = 3). B The mRNA levels of BcL2, p53, and TGF-α normalized to the β-actin housekeeping gene were determined by RT-PCR. The values are presented as mean ± SEM (n = 6, duplicate). *p < 0.05 compared to the control (Pb 0 mg/kg b.w.)