JWA null mutant mice were produced by intercrossing the JWAD2/ mice

iability Assay In vitro PC-3M-MM2 cell proliferation was performed by using CellTiter 96H AQueous One Solution Cell Proliferation Assay Kit, according to the manufacturer’s instructions. In brief, 2500 cells per well were seeded into a 96well plate. After respective treatments, cells were allowed to grow for 72 h. After 72 h, 20 ml of CellTiter 96 AQueous One Solution reagent was added to each well in 100 ml of total volume of media. Cells were incubated for 3 to 4 h, and absorbance was recorded at 490 nm using an ELISA plate reader. The absorbance is directly proportional to the number of living cells and is expressed as a percent relative to vehicle-treated cells. Apoptosis Detection by Flow Cytometry Cell death via apoptosis was determined by using Salvianic acid A FITCAnnexinV Apoptosis detection kit and quantified by flow cytometry as described previously. Briefly, at the end of the treatment time, PC3M-MM2 cells were washed once with phosphate buffered saline and harvested in a 0.5% trypsin/EDTA solution at 37uC, centrifuged at 2206g for 5 min and then immediately resuspended in the physiological buffer provided in the kit. Cells were then maintained in the dark for 15 min at room temperature with 5 ml of both propidium iodide and FITC conjugated annexin V, after which the samples were analyzed immediately by BD Biosciences FACSCalibur flow cytometer. The results were quantified using the CellQuest software. Materials and Methods Ethics Statement All animal studies were conducted in accordance with the National Institutes of Health animal use guidelines and a protocol approved by the Southern Illinois University School of Medicine Laboratory Animal Care and Use Committee. Apoptosis Detection by TUNEL Assay Cell death via apoptosis in PC-3M-MM2 cells was detected by TUNEL assay using Fluorescein FragELTM DNA fragmentation detection kit. Briefly, monolayers of PC-3MMM2 cells were cultured on glass coverslips. At the end of treatment, cells were fixed with 4% paraformaldehyde. The cells were then permeabilized using proteinase K for 20 min at room temperature. At the end of incubation the cells were rinsed with 1X Tris-buffered saline. Following which they were incubated with 1X TdT equilibration buffer for 1030 min. After the incubation was over, 60 ml of TdT labeling reaction mixture was applied on each coverslip and were placed in a humidified chamber and incubated for 11.5 h at 37uC. Next, the cells were rinsed twice with 1X TBS. Cells containing glass coverslips were mounted using Fluorescein-FragELTM mounting media. Excess of the mounting media was wiped off and the edges were sealed using nail polish. Slides were then imaged using an Olympus confocal microscope. Cell Culture Highly invasive, androgen-independent human prostate carcinoma PC-3M-MM2 cells were obtained from Dr. Kounosuke Watabe. This cell line is derived from bone metastatic cell cultures of intra-cardiac injections of PC-3M-MM1 cells in nude mice. PC-3MMM1 cells in turn were derived from PC-3M cells, which are an aggressive variant of PC-3 cells. Other prostate cancer cell lines, DU145 and LNCaP, were kindly provided by Dr. Daotai Nie. All cell lines were cultured in RPMI 1640 media supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum, 50 units/ml penicillin and 25 mg/ml streptomycin. Cells were grown at 37uC in the presence of 5% CO2 and 95% ambient air. All the experiments were carried out in complete media using confluent monolayers, unless otherwise mentioned. Modified Wound-Healing Ass