Figure 4
From: Exploring the potential of low doses carbon monoxide as therapy in pregnancy complications
CO treatment significantly diminished cell death in placental tissue and up-regulated the expression of the anti-apoptotic molecule Bag-1. (a) Analysis of DNA fragmentation by TUNEL staining carried out in samples containing placental tissue from day 14 of pregnancy revealed a significant diminution in the number of apoptotic cells in the CO-treated group compared to air treated group. Representative pictures show the abundant presence of TUNEL positive cells in placental tissue from control animals (b) or the almost absent TUNEL positive cells in placental tissue from CO-treated animals (c). The bars represent 50 μm. (d-e) The expression of the anti-apoptotic gen Bag-1 was up-regulated in placental tissue from animals receiving CO treatment compared to control animals at both protein (d) and mRNA (e) level. Representative picture showing a western blot is included in (d). Data are presented as median. Statistical significances were evaluated by the non-parametric Mann-Whitney-Utest. *:p < 0.05.