Figure 5

EPA blocks baseline C2C12 apoptosis. C2C12 cells in DM for 5 days were stained with Hoechst 33342 to identify brightly fluorescent, condensed apoptotic nuclei. Representative images are shown in (A) for cells in the presence or absence of 50 μM EPA with arrows indicating example apoptotic nuclei. A semi-quantitative analysis was performed by calculating an apoptosis index (AI%) from these images (B). Quantitative analysis of caspase-8 activity (measured in relative light units, RLU) from cultures in the presence or absence of EPA was evaluated using the Caspase Glo-8 commercial assay (C). Data are expressed as means ± standard error of mean (SEM) from 3 independent experiments. (*p < 0.05 v. control). Calibration bars are 50 μm.