*3.5. Vitamin C Deficient Neutrophils Undergo Attenuated Apoptosis*

To determine the extent of apoptosis in peritoneal PMNs from VitC sufficient and VitC deficient mice, we examined a well characterized marker of apoptosis, cleaved caspase-3, by immunoblotting of PMN cell lysates. As seen in Figure 5, caspase-3 activation was significantly lower in VitC *deficient* PMNs (*p* < 0.05).

**Figure 5.** Vitamin C deficient neutrophils undergo attenuated apoptosis. Representative Western blot for expression of caspase-3 and cleaved caspase-3 from peritoneal PMNs of VitC sufficient and deficient Gulo−/− mice. Densitometry of cleaved caspase-3/caspase-3 from peritoneal PMNs of VitC sufficient and deficient Gulo−/− mice (*N* = 6 for each group, \* *p* < 0.05).
