Disassembly of apoptotic cells into smaller fragments (a form of extracellular vesicle called apoptotic bodies) can facilitate removal of apoptotic debris and intercellular communication. However, the mechanism underpinning this process is unclear. While observing monocytes undergoing apoptosis by time-lapse microscopy, we discovered a new type of membrane protrusion that resembles a 'beads-on-...

BACKGROUND Clearance of apoptotic neutrophils in the lung is an essential process to limit inflammation, since they could become a pro-inflammatory stimulus themselves. The clearance is partially mediated by alveolar macrophages, which phagocytose these apoptotic cells. The phagocytosis of apoptotic immune cells by monocytes in vitro has been shown to be augmented by several constituents of pul...

Marginal zone macrophages (MZMs) are a small subset of specialized splenic macrophages known to interact with apoptotic material entering the spleen from circulation. To evaluate whether MZMs regulate immunity to apoptotic material we depleted MZMs and assessed innate and adaptive immune responses to apoptotic cells administered systemically. MZM depletion altered the spatial localization of ap...

Defects in apoptotic pathways can promote cancer cell survival and also confer resistance to antineoplastic drugs. One pathway being targeted for antineoplastic therapy is the anti-apoptotic B-cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2) family of proteins (Bcl-2, Bcl-XL, Bcl-w, Mcl-1, Bfl1/A-1, and Bcl-B) that bind to and inactivate BH3-domain pro-apoptotic proteins. Signals transmitted by cellular damage (includi...

Background: The aim of this study was evaluation of developmental rate and Bax, Bcl-2 and ErbB4 genes expression following re-vitrification in compact and early blastocysts stages. Materials and Methods: 5-8 cell embryos were collected from female mature mice, 60-62 hours post hCG injection. The embryos were divided to five groups including: fresh, vitrified at 5-8 cells, vitrified at blastocys...

conclusions the analysis of the pro-apoptotic gene to anti-apoptotic gene expression ratio (bad /bcl-xl) confirmed that expression of the pro-apoptotic gene significantly decreased (p value ˂ 0.001) under the ischemia/reperfusion condition. in contrast, the expression of the anti-apoptotic gene increased after administration of fk-506 (p value ˂ 0.001). results the quantitative results of real-...

Neutrophil granulocytes are the first leukocytes that encounter and phagocytose Leishmania major (L. major) parasites in the infected skin. The parasites can nonetheless survive within neutrophils. However, the mechanisms enabling the survival of Leishmania within neutrophils are still elusive. Previous findings indicated that human neutrophils can engulf apoptotic cells. Since apoptotic neutro...

background: globozoospermia is a severe form of teratozoospermia (incidence < 0.1%) in infertile men that is characterized by round headed sperm and acrosomeless in semen. objective: to compare the semen parameters, protamine deficiency, and apoptosis in ejaculated spermatozoa between globozoospermic and normozoospermic men. materials and methods: thirty six semen samples were divided into two ...

objective: the aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of sucrose on follicular survival rate and the incidence of apoptosis in rat ovarian tissue following vitrification. methods: ovaries of approximately 5-week-old female wistar rats were divided randomly into three groups: control (non-vitrified), vi (ethylene glycol + dimethyl sulfoxide) and vii (eg + dmso + 0.25 mol/lit sucrose). vit...

Uncontrolled apoptosis has been associated with several pulmonary disorders; however, the molecular mechanism underlying this process and the fate of apoptotic cells in vivo are unclear. Here we show that direct administration of apoptotic cells to the lungs of rats caused pulmonary inflammation and fibrosis, as indicated by emigration of inflammatory cells to the air spaces, TNF-alpha immunore...