Hydrogen Sulfide Alleviates Lipopolysaccharide-Induced Diaphragm Dysfunction in Rats by Reducing Apoptosis and Inflammation through ROS/MAPK and TLR4/NF-κB Signaling Pathways

Figure 2

Effects of H₂S on the apoptosis of LPS-treated L6 cells. (a) The apoptotic levels were measured by TUNEL staining; original magnification, ×100. (b) The percentages of TUNEL-positive cells were calculated by the formula: the apoptotic index = (positively stained apoptotic cells)/(total number of cells) × 100%. (c–d) Western blotting analysis for the expression levels of Bcl-2, Bax, Bcl-xl, and Bad, cleaved caspase-3, -8, and -9 and cleaved PARP in each group. GAPDH was used as the loading control. (e–j) The densitometry analysis of each factor was performed in each group, normalized to the corresponding GAPDH level. Data are presented as mean ± SEM of three independent experiments; and compared with the control group; and compared with the LPS group.

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