Figure 1. Inhibition of proliferation in esophageal cancer cell lines by cepharanthine hydrochloride (CEH).

(A) Chemical structure of CEH used in the present study. (B) Morphological changes of Eca109 cells undergoing cisplatin induced drug-resistance. (C and D) Effects of CEH on the growth of the esophageal squamous cell carcinoma cell lines, Eca109 and Eca109/CDDP. Cells were treated with various concentrations of CEH for 48 h and cell viability was measured by MTT assay. (E and F) The effects of 48 h treatment with cisplatin (cDDP) and cDDP combined with various concentrations of CEH on the growth of Eca109 and Eca109/CDDP cells. The half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC₅₀) was quantified. (G and H) The combination index (CI) of CEH and cDDP in Eca109 and Eca109/CDDP was below 1. All data are presented as the mean ± SD of three independent experiments. ^**, P < 0.01; ^***, P < 0.001 compared to the control.