Fig. 3.

The combination treatment of Pur and DDP induces the apoptosis of ovarian cancer cells. (a–d) SKOV3 and SKOV3/DDP cells were treated with Pur (8 μM) or DDP (4 μM for SKOV3 cells and 30 μM for SKOV3/DDP cells) or in combination for 24 h, and then apoptotic cells were detected with the annexin V-PE/7-AAD kit and analyzed by flow cytometry. (e–j) the expression levels of apoptosis-related proteins in EOC cells including caspase-12, Bcl-2, Bax, cleaved caspase-3, and cytochrome-C were measured by western blotting. β-actin was included as a loading control. (k–l) The effects of Pur and DDP on alteration of the mitochondrial membrane potential (Δψm) in EOC cells were determined by JC-1 staining via fluorescence microscopy. Scale bar: 50 μm. All data are representative of three independent experiments. Bars, SEM. n = 3 experiments. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, *** P < 0.001 vs. the control (Pur-, DDP-). EOC, epithelial ovarian cancer; DDP, cisplatin; Pur, Purvalanol A.