RESUMEN
AIM:To investigate the effect of inhibiting Mcl-1 gene expression on apoptosis of mouse peritoneal macrophages infected with different virulence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis using a technique of RNA interference .METH-ODS:The BALB/c mice were infected with prepared bacterium of the virulence strains of Xinjiang , H37Rv, H37Ra and BCG.Mcl-1-shRNA was applied to the mouse model of infection , and the control groups were set up .On 1 d, 3 d, 5 d and 7 d, the mouse peritoneal macrophages were collected .The expression of Mcl-1 at mRNA and protein levels was deter-mined by real-time PCR and Western blot .The apoptotic rate of peritoneal macrophages was analyzed by flow cytometry . RESULTS:The expression of Mcl-1 at mRNA and protein levels was up-regulated in the peritoneal macrophages from the mice infected with different virulence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and the cells from the mice infected with virulence strains of Xinjiang and H37Rv expressed higher level of Mcl-1 than the uninfected control cells (P<0.05).The expres-sion of Mcl-1 at mRNA and protein levels was reduced by RNA interference as compared with control group ( P<0.05 ) . Inhibition of Mcl-1 expression induced apoptosis of peritoneal macrophages in the mice .CONCLUSION: The Mcl-1 ex-pression at mRNA and protein levels in mouse peritoneal macrophages infected with different virulence of Mycobacterium tu-berculosis was effectively suppressed by Mcl-1-shRNA, which can induce macrophage apoptosis .