Phosphatidylserine exposure in Fas type I cells is mitochondria-dependent

Previous studies have demonstrated that Fas-triggered activation of effector caspases and subsequent nuclear apoptosis either is mitochondria-independent (type I cells) or relies on mitochondrial amplification of the initial stimulus (type II cells). We show herein that Bcl-2 overexpression in a prototypic type I cell line (SKW6.4) promotes mitochondrial generation of ATP and blocks Fas-triggered plasma membrane externalization of phosphatidylserine (PS). Moreover, overexpression of Bcl-2 attenuates macrophage engulfment of Fas-triggered cells. Fas-mediated DNA fragmentation, on the other hand, remains unaffected in SKW6.4-bcl-2 cells. These studies thus demonstrate that PS externalization and clearance of cell corpses are mitochondria-dependent events, and show that these events can be dissociated from other features of the apoptotic program, in Fas type I cells.