Cytokine-mediated apoptosis in rat β-cells is preceded by downregulation of bcl-2 and bax-Ωexpression

摘要

Proinflammatory cytokines have been shown to cause death in isolated rodent and human islet cell prepara- tions. Depending on the species and the experimental conditions, they predominantly induce necrosis or apo- ptosis. In single ratβ-cells, the combination of inter- leukin-1βand γ-interfenon leads to a progressive increase in the number of apoptotic cells: after 7 days of culture, these cytokines cause apoptosis in±30/100 of the cells. Their effect was blocked in the presence of N-methyl-L-arginine(NMA), a specific inhibitor of Inducible NO synthase, indicating its NO dependency.