Role of Reactive Oxygen Species and Bcl-2 Family Proteins in TNF-alpha-Induced Apoptosis of Lymphocytes

摘要

We studied the in vitro apoptosis-inducing effect of recombinant TNF-a (rTNF-a) on blood lymphocytes from healthy donors. rTNF-a-induced apoptosis was accompanied by an increase in the number of cells with low mitochondrial transmembrane potential, increased intracellular content of reactive oxygen species, reduced content of Bcl-2, Bcl-xL, and Bax proteins, and elevated Bad content. The molecular mechanisms of these changes are discussed.