The Role of Mcl-1 in S. aureus-Induced Cytoprotection of Infected Macrophages
Figure 1
Mcl-1 expression is induced specifically by S. aureus phagocytosis and is dependent on bacterial dose and viability. (a) The effect of phagocytosis of S. aureus (Sa), E. coli (Ec), and latex beads (LTX) on Mcl-1 protein levels was assessed by immunoblot. After phagocytosis, cells were cultured for 8 h and then protein fractions were prepared as described in Section 2. Representative immunoblot from three separate experiments performed on hMDMs derived from different donors is shown. Mcl-1 was visualised by immunoblot using anti-Mcl-1-specific antibodies. (b) The effect of S. aureus phagocytosis on Mcl-1 levels is proportional to an infection dose. A representative immunoblot from three separate experiments performed on hMDMs derived from different donors is shown. (c) The effect of phagocytosis of live (Sa) and dead, heat-killed S. aureus (Sa HI) on MCL1 expression was determined by qRT-PCR. Data are from independent reactions using hMDMs derived from different donors. Paired points represent the response of hMDMs obtained from the same donors to both live and dead bacteria. Bars represent relative means SD. ; NS: not significant. (d) The comparison of expression levels of proapoptotic MCL1S (white bars) versus antiapoptotic MCL1 (filled bars). Results were obtained by qRT-PCR from three separate experiments. .
