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. 2020 Sep 1;11(8):712. doi: 10.1038/s41419-020-02885-0

Fig. 5. The dual NUAK1 and ULK1 inhibitor MRT68921 significantly induces apoptosis, elevates ROS levels, and inhibits the NUAK1/Gsk3β pathway in different cancer types.

Fig. 5

a Twelve cancer cell lines were treated with MRT68921 at different concentrations (from 0 to 10 μM) for 24 h, followed by analysis for cytotoxic effects with CCK-8 assay (n = 3). b 293 T and HUVECs were treated with MRT68921 (from 0 to 40 μM) for 24 h and evaluated by CCK-8 assay. MRT68921 has a significantly stronger cytotoxic effect on cancer cells than normal cells (n = 3). c NCI-H460 and MNK45 cells were treated with MRT68921 (from 0 to 10 μM) for 24 h, followed by apoptosis analysis with Annexin V/PI staining. A significant increase in both early and late apoptotic populations was observed. d NCI-H460 cells were treated with three different concentrations of MRT68921 (0, 1, and 5 μM) for 8 h, followed by ROS detection with DCFH-DA staining. Treatment with 5 μM MRT68921 induces elevated ROS levels. e U251 and MNK45 cells were treated with different concentrations of MRT68921 (from 0 to 5 μM) for 8 h, followed by western blot. f, Quantifications of cleavage PARP1/PARP1, p-Gsk3β/Gsk3β, p-MYPT1/MYPT1, NUAK1/GAPDH, p62/GAPDH, and LC3B/GAPDH (n = 3).