Fig. 2.

Aurora kinase inhibitors and TILs synergize in inducing apoptosis in human melanoma cells. a The human melanoma-derived cell lines Mel2559 and Mel2686 were treated with increasing concentrations of pan-Aurora kinase inhibitor AMG900 or AURKB inhibitor AZD1152, followed by co-culture with autologous TILs. The percentage of cleaved caspase-3 was subsequently analyzed to quantify apoptosis. b A combination index was calculated to quantify synergy between Aurora kinase inhibitors and melanoma-derived TILs using CalcuSyn. The normalized dose effect of each drug is represented on the representative axes. The combination index between the drugs is indicated in the graph by black dots, and the interaction is synergistic if the combination index is < 1, below the diagonal line. c The combination indices of AMG900 or AZD1152 with Mel2559 or Mel2686 TIL are represented in the normalized isobolograms. The data are representative of at least three independent experiments. Two-sided independent sample t tests were performed to compare cleaved caspase-3⁺ cell frequencies induced by a compound and TIL with TIL alone. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001