Figure 5.

 Cepharanthin (CEP) increased cell apoptosis in primary histoculture of cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) patient tissues. Fresh cancerous tissue slices from CCA patients were cultured on a collagen sponge gel submerged in RPMI‐1640 with 20% fetal calf serum, in the absence (a) or presence of (b) 10 μg/mL CEP or (c) 20 μg/mL CEP for 4 days. Apoptotic cells were determined using immunohistochemistry staining with TUNEL assay. (d) CEP significantly increased the number of apoptotic cells in a dose‐dependent manner compared with the control group. **P < 0.05; *P < 0.001 independent‐sample t‐test compared with the control group. (magnification of a–c: × 40).