Degrasyn interacts with bortezomib to synergize apoptosis induction. (A) Typical MCL (Mino) and BV-MCL (Z-138) cells were treated with bortezomib alone (10 nM), degrasyn alone (1 μM), or a combination of the two for 48 hours and then analyzed for apoptosis using annexin V assays. The data shown are the means and ranges of three independent experiments. Error bars represent standard deviation. (B) MCL cell lines and primary MCL cells were treated with bortezomib (BZ) alone, degrasyn (DG) alone, or a combination of the two for 48 h. Cell extracts were purified and subjected to caspase 3 assays. The data shown are the means and ranges of three independent experiments. Error bars represent standard deviation. (C) MCL cells were treated with bortezomib (BZ; 10 nM) alone, degrasyn (DG; 1 μM) alone, or a combination of the two. After 48 h, cell extracts were analyzed for bcl-2 and bax protein expression using Western blotting. Actin was used as a loading control. Cont, control. Numbers below each panel indicate the relative intensity of each protein band compared to the control sample for each cell line.