Apoptosome-dependent myotube formation involves activation of caspase-3 in differentiating myoblasts

摘要

C2C12 cells in growth medium (GM) fused and expressed myosin heavy chain (green) when cultured in differentiation medium (DM) for 3 days. The caspase inhibitor Q-VD-OPh (DM + QVD) blocked cell fusion. Representative images are shown and scale bars represent 50 µm. The effect of QVD on cell fusion was quantified. Caspase-3 like activity was assessed in morphologically normal cells after apoptotic cells were washed away. DM also induced caspase-dependent cell death. The data are the means ± SD of three independent experiments (*