Figure 3.

BBR induced NSCLC cell apoptosis via the activation of the ASK1/JNK pathway. (A) The A549 and PC9 cells were treated with or without 40 μM of SP600125 for 1 h before treatment with 80 μM of BBR for 48 h. The protein levels of p-JNK, JNK, CL-caspase-3, Bax, and Bcl-2 in the NSCLC cells were measured by western blotting. (B) The protein levels were quantified. (C) Cell viability was measured by CCK-8 assays. The data are presented as the mean ± standard deviation for the three different experiments with triplicate sets in each assay. *P<0.05, **P<0.01, and ***P<0.001. +, added with indicated agent; −, none. BBR, berberine; NSCLC, non-small cell lung cancer; ASK1, apoptosis signal-regulating kinase 1; JNK, c-jun-NH2-kinase; CCK-8, Cell Counting Kit-8.