Fig. 2

Sigma-2 ligands induce caspase-3 activation and involve Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) in Panc02 cell lines (a) Caspase-3 activation was measured by Caspase-GloR Assay in Panc02 cells treated with 200 μM of different compounds for 5 h and expressed relative to vehicle. Cells treated with PB221 and PB282 had significant increase in caspase-3 p < 0.0001. b Panc02 cells were pre-treated with caspase-3 inhibitor Z-DEVD-FMK (1 μM) or DMSO vehicle for one hour prior to exposure to sigma-2 ligands PB221, PB282 (200 μM) or DMSO vehicle for 5 h. The caspase-3 specific inhibitor Z-DEVD-FMK and lipophilic antioxidant α-tocopherol abrogates caspase-3 dependent cleavage p < 0.0001. c Indirect measurement of ROS involvement following 24 h treatment with 50 μM PB28, PB221, PB183, F281 or PB282 in the presence of 100 μM lipophilic antioxidant α-tocopherol or hydrophilic antioxidant N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC), p = 0.002