Fig. 2. Overexpression of bcl-x Lmorphologically protects astrocytes from H2O2injury. Astrocytes overexpressing bxl-xL( A and B ) or β-galactosidase ( C and D ) or mock-infected ( E and F ) were exposed to 400 μM H2O2for 6 h, then stained with Trypan blue and photographed with phase contrast ( A , C , and E ) or bright field ( B , D , and F ) optics. Astrocytes infected with bcl-x Lwere resistant to injury ( A and B ), showing few Trypan blue–stained cells;β-galactosidase–expressing ( C and D ) and mock-infected astrocytes ( E and F ) were nearly all dead, as demonstrated by Trypan blue staining.