Figure 4.

Apoptosis induced by Polyphyllin VII can be rescued with autophagy inhibitor 3-MA in U2OS cells. (A and B) Expression levels of cleaved caspase-3 and cleaved caspase-9 as determined via western blotting in cells treated with 5 µM Polyphyllin VII alone or in combination with 1 mM 3-MA. Data are expressed as mean ± SD from three independent experiments. **P<0.01 compared to the control. ^##P<0.01 and ^###P<0.001compared to Polyphyllin VII alone. 3-MA, 3-methyladenine; PVII, Polyphyllin VII.