Fig. 1

trans-Resveratrol triggers cell death with the feature of apoptosis in MCF-7 cells. a MCF-7 cells were treated for 24 h with different concentrations of trans-resveratrol, ranging from 6.25 to 50 μg/ml. At indicated time points, cells were harvested and counted upon Trypan blue staining. Data show the percentage of Trypan blue-positive cells and are expressed as means ± SD. All the values reported are significantly different with respect to control (P < 0.001). b MCF-7 cells were treated for 24 and 48 h with 50 μg/ml trans-resveratrol. At indicated time points, cells were harvested and counted upon Trypan blue staining. Data show the percentage of Trypan blue-positive cells and are expressed as means ± SD. The values reported are significantly different with respect to control (P < 0.001). c MCF-7 cells were treated for 24 h with different concentrations of trans-resveratrol, ranging from 6.25 to 50 μg/ml, and stained with annexin V-FITC and propidium iodide. Fluorescence was analysed by a FACScalibur instrument and percentages of staining-positive cells were calculated using WinMDI version 2.8 software. Data show the percentage of total annexin V-FITC-positive cells and are expressed as means ± SD. All the values reported are significantly different with respect to control (P < 0.001). d MCF-7 cells were grown on chamber-slices and treated for 18 h with 50 μg/ml trans-resveratrol. After washing with PBS and fixing with 0.4% paraformaldehyde, cells were stained with Hoechst 33342 and visualized by fluorescence microscopy. White arrows indicate condensed chromatin characteristic of apoptotic nuclei