Fig. 1

Effects of progesterone (P4) on apoptosis of human KGN cells. (A and B) Effects of P4 on the apoptosis of KGN cells was examined by annexin V-Fluorescein 5-isothiocyanate/propidium iodide staining. Early apoptotic cells show green fluorescence (Annexin V+/PI-), while late apoptotic cells and necrotic cells show green and red fluorescence (Annexin V+/PI+). 4′,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (blue) was used to stain the nuclei. Scale bars represent 50 μm. (C) A sample of western blot analysis measuring the protein levels of Cleaved-CASPASE-3-3, BAX and BCL2 in KGN cells after P4 treatment or aminoglutethimide (AG), or P4 and AG co-incubation (P4 + AG). (D-G) Statistical analyses of BCL2 (D), BAX (E), BAX/BCL2 ratio (F) and Cleaved- CASPASE-3 (G) were conducted by quantifying the gray value of target bands normalized to that detected by the anti-GAPDH antibody (loading control) using Image J software. (H) The mRNA levels of apoptosis-related genes (CASPASE-3, BAX and BCL2) in KGN cells were analyzed after P4 treatment or AG, P4 and AG co-incubation (P4 + AG) by real-time quantitative PCR. Values are presented as the mean ± SD. The experiment was repeated three times. *P < 0.05, One-way ANOVA analysis