Figure 6.

Combined effects of EA and celastrol in mice injected with lung cancer cells. (A) HOP62 and H1975 cells were treated with EA and/or celastrol for 24 hours, and cell proliferation was detected by MTT assay. CI plots were generated by the Chou‐Talay method and Calcusyn software. The numbers 1‐8 correspond to the number labelled representing different treatment combinations. (B, C) HOP62 cells were treated with EA (25 μM) and/or celastrol (0.75 μM) for 24 hours, and LC3 (B) and CIP2A (C) were analysed by Western blot. (D) Images of xenograft tumours obtained from the mice. Nude mice‐bearing HOP62 cells were treated with EA and/or celastrol. (E) Efficacy of the EA and celastrol combination on tumour growth in nude mice injected with HOP62 cells. Tumour volume was measured every 2 days, n = 7 for each group. Data are presented as the mean ± SEM. P = 0.032 for one‐way ANOVA; P‐values for comparison between control group and each treatment group: *P < 0.05; **P < 0.01. P‐values for comparison between combined treatment group and EA alone or celastrol alone group: P = 0.04, respectively. (F) The body weight of mice was monitored every 2 days. (G) The serum levels of Cr, ALT, and AST in mice from each group were detected. (H) Tumour samples from mice were harvested, homogenized, and lysed for Western blot using the indicated antibodies. Numbers under the bands (LC3‐II for LC3) are the relative expression values to Actin determined by densitometry analysis