Figure 5.

Paclitaxel reduces the number of neurites in SH-SY5Y-derived neurons and this effect is exacerbated by inhibition of P-glycoprotein by atorvastatin. Fully differentiated SH-SY5Y cells were treated with the indicated concentrations of paclitaxel for 24 hours in the absence and presence of 10 nM and 100 nM atorvastatin. A) The cells were stained for F-actin and nuclei (DAPI) and representative images are shown. Exposure to 0.5 μM of paclitaxel causes minimal effects on neuronal networks compared to the 0.2% DMSO control, but concomitant treatment with 100 nM of atorvastatin causes increased neuronal toxicity of paclitaxel. Scale bar represents 200 μm. B) The number of neurites were quantified using ImageJ. At least five images from three separate differentiations were assessed. Atorvastatin (10 nM and 100 nM) significantly exacerbated the paclitaxel (0.1 μM and 0.5 μM) effect on number of neurites (p<0.001, ANOVA).