The Study of Intracellular Energy in Apoptotic Cells

Apoptosis is an active process in which the activity of enzymes, chromatin condensation and apoptotic body formation are dependent on energy. Therefore; apoptosis is likely to have a high energy demand. The aim of this investigation was to study the ATP level in apoptotic cells. Fifty mice (BALB/c) were divided into 2 groups. Experimental and control groups were intraperitoneally injected with 20 mg/kg of dexamethasone and PBS respectively. After 16 hours, the thymus in both of the groups was removed. One lobe of the thymus was processed for microscopic study, while ATP level in the other lobe was measured by Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR). ATP level in apoptotic cells was 86% of that in normal cells. This study indicated that apoptosis is an active process and the level of ATP remains high during cell death process.