
pmid: 18442812
Combination therapy with multiple drugs is a common practice in the treatment of cancer. The promising clinical activity of docetaxel has promoted considerable interest in combining it with other antitumor agents. To determine whether cucurbitacin B can enhance chemosensitivity to docetaxel in laryngeal cancer, in the present study, we investigated the combined antitumor effect of cucurbitacin B with docetaxel on Hep-2, a human laryngeal cancer cell line. We treated Hep-2 cells with cucurbitacin B alone or in combination with docetaxel and evaluated cell growth, cell cycle distribution, and apoptosis using MTT (3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2, 5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide) assay, flow cytometry, and fluorescent microscopy. Our results showed that, in comparison with single agent treatment, the combination of cucurbitacin B and docetaxel produced greater efficacy in growth inhibition, cell cycle arrest at G2/M phase, and apoptosis induction. Measuring the modulation of regulators in the cell cycle, apoptosis and signal transductions by Western blot analysis showed that the combination effect of cucurbitacin B and docetaxel was due to suppress the expression of p-STAT3 (signal transducers and activators of transcription 3), Bcl-2, and cyclin B1. Moreover, our in vivo studies were reproduced in a mouse xenograft model, where, the combination of cucurbitacin B with docetaxel synergestively inhibited tumor growth. Together, this investigation suggests that cucurbitacin B combined with docetaxel may be a feasible strategy to enhance the effects of chemotherapy in patients with laryngeal cancer.
Dose-Response Relationship, Drug, Cell Survival, Blotting, Western, Apoptosis, Cell Cycle Proteins, Docetaxel, Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic, Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays, Triterpenes, Neoplasm Proteins, Microscopy, Fluorescence, Cell Line, Tumor, Humans, Indicators and Reagents, Taxoids, Annexin A5, Laryngeal Neoplasms, Neoplasm Transplantation, Signal Transduction
Dose-Response Relationship, Drug, Cell Survival, Blotting, Western, Apoptosis, Cell Cycle Proteins, Docetaxel, Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic, Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays, Triterpenes, Neoplasm Proteins, Microscopy, Fluorescence, Cell Line, Tumor, Humans, Indicators and Reagents, Taxoids, Annexin A5, Laryngeal Neoplasms, Neoplasm Transplantation, Signal Transduction
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