Figure 3.

Apoptosis triggered by TM deletion mutants is inhibited by Bcl-x_L. A, Schematic representation of the GFP tagged Bax constructs used in functional assays. The numerals indicate the amino acid residue number in the Bax protein (192 amino acids). TM1: transmembrane domain 1, TM2: transmembrane domain 2. B-D, Apoptotic nuclear damage in cells assessed 12–15 hours post-transfection in B, Jurkat cells transfected with GFP, Bax 30–171-GFP or Bax 1–171-GFP with or without Bcl-2 as indicated. The data in the figure is normalized to nuclear damage in GFP or GFP + Bcl-2 transfected cells. C, Jurkat cells transfected with GFP, Bax 30–105-GFP (3 μg) with Bcl-2 (3 μg) or Bcl-x_L (3 μg). D, HEK cells transfected with Bax-GFP (1 μg), Bax 30–192-GFP (1 μg) or Bax 30–105-GFP (1 μg) with or without Bcl-x_L (1 μg). Inset, shows the levels of Bax, Bcl-2 and Bcl-x_L as determined by western blot analysis of the Jurkat and HEK cell lines. The data are presented as mean ± SD derived from a minimum of three independent experiments. **p < 0.01; *p < 0.001.