The effects of sodium arsenite on the survivin expression in ATL cells. (A) MT2, S1T, and Jurkat cells were incubated in the presence of 2 or 5 μM arsenic trioxide for 24, 48, or 72 hours. Whole-cell lysates (100 μg protein) were prepared and separated by 12.5% SDS-PAGE and transferred to a PVDF membrane. The transferred proteins were reacted with the antibody against survivin, Bcl-2, or PARP as described in “Patients, materials, and methods.” As an internal control, α-tubulin expression was detected. (B) The quantification of the survivin levels in MT2, S1T, and Jurkat cells. The relative density of the bands for survivin obtained by a densitometric analysis and α-tubulin was used to normalize the respective intensities. (C) S1T and Jurkat cells were treated with sodium arsenite at the indicated concentration and time. Total RNA was then subjected to RT-PCR using primers specific for the amplification of survivin. β-actin expression was examined as an internal control to ensure the RNA integrity and proper amplification.