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This study investigates the effect of lithium chloride (LiCl) on mouse thymocyte apoptosis.A primary culture of mouse thymocytes was preincubated with LiCl (from 5 to 500 μmol/L) before exposure to dexamethasone (DEX), the apoptosis inducer.With 100 μmol/L of LiCl, apoptotic cell death induced by DEX was almost completely prevented as determined by flow cytometric analysis, terminal deoxynucleotidyltransferase (TdT)-mediated dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) assay and DNA laddering assay.The results show that the DEX-induced increment of caspase-3 activity in thymocytes is completely eliminated by LiCl preincubation.The results suggest that LiCl may protect Balb/c mouse thymocytes from apoptosis induced by glucocorticoid in a dose-dependent matter.