Figure 3.

Triptolide and gemcitabine cooperatively induce loss of MMP in pancreatic cancer cells. (A and B) BxPC-3 or PANC-1 cells were treated initially with gemcitabine for 24 h, followed by treatment with triptolide for 48 h without washing off the gemcitabine. MMP was determined by Rhodamine 123 staining. (C) Whole cell lysates from the BxPC-3 or PANC-1 cells used in A and B were subjected to immunoblotting to determine protein levels for the Bcl-2 family members, Bcl-2 and Mcl-1. **P<0.01 refers to combined treatment vs. treatment with gemcitabine and triptolide alone. MMP, mitochondrial membrane potential; Bcl-2, B-cell lymphoma 2; Mcl-1, myeloid cell leukemia 1; GAPDH, glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase.