Activation of the Mitochondrial Apoptotic Signaling Platform during Rubella Virus Infection

Claus, Claudia; Manssen, Lena; Hübner, Denise; Roßmark, Sarah; Bothe, Viktoria; Petzold, Alice; Große, Claudia; Reins, Mareen; Mankertz, Annette; Frey, Teryl K.; Liebert, Uwe G.

RV-induced apoptosis occurs in a complex, multi-step and rather cell type-specific manner [2] . Moreover, precise mechanisms remain to be resolved as reports on the involvement of effectiveness was assessed at 72 h post-infection (hpi) through harvesting and counting the number of floaters. Figure 1A shows the effect of z-VAD-fmk at 12.5 and 25 µM, PFTµ at 12.5 µM and NIM811 at 2 µM (applied at 2, 24 and 48 hpi) on the floater population. In comparison to the respective solvent control (SC, set at 100%), the number of floaters was significantly reduced by all three compounds ( Figure 1A ), but at varying degrees, which was also dependent on the application time point. NIM811 was the least effective compound, while the effectiveness of PFTµ was comparable to z-VAD-fmk. The greatest level of reduction in the floater population was reached after application of PFTµ (27%¨2% of the SC) and z-VAD-fmk (30%¨3% and 28%¨3% of the SC for 12.5 µM and 25 µM, respectively) at 24 hpi.