Figure 5.

(A–D) 5-fluorouracil (5-FU; 8.1×10⁻³ g/L), sorafenib (sora; 4.4 μmol/L), and celecoxib (Cele; 21.8 μmol/L), administered individually, clearly induced apoptosis of HepG2 multicellular spheroids. No marked apoptosis was observed in the multicellular spheroids treated with gefitinib (gefi; 5 μmol/L). Celecoxib combined with 5-fluorouracil, sorafenib, or gefitinib rather than administered as a single-agent treatment, increased apoptosis. (A) Celecoxib plus 5-fluorouracil; (B) celecoxib plus sorafenib; (C) celecoxib plus gefitinib; (D) representative data of flow cytometry.

Notes: ^#P<0.05, celecoxib versus celecoxib plus 5-fluorouracil, sorafenib, or gefitinib; *P<0.05, 5-fluorouracil, sorafenib, or gefitinib versus celecoxib plus 5-fluorouracil, sorafenib, or gefitinib.

Abbreviations: FITC, fluorescein isothiocyanate; APC, allophycocyanin; PI, propidium iodide; AAD, aminoactinomycin D.