High Bcl-2/Bax ratio in Walker tumor cells protects mitochondria but does not prevent H2O2-induced apoptosis via calcineurin pathways.

It has been previously shown that Walker 256 tumor cells express a high content of the anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2 which protects mitochondria against the damaging effects of Ca(2+). In the present study, we analyze H(2)O(2)-induced apoptotic death in two different types of tumor cells: Walker 256 and SCC-25. Treatment with H(2)O(2) (4mM) increased reactive oxygen species generation and the concentration of cytosolic free Ca(2+).