Fig. 4

Temporal profiles of cell cycle distribution, proliferation, and apoptotic progression during birinapant/paclitaxel exposure. PANC-1 cells were exposed to vehicle, 5–50 nM PTX (P), 100–3000 nM BRP (B) or the indicated BRP/PTX (Bx/Py) combinations for up to 72 h. a-d Percentage of cells in G0/G1, S, and G2/M phases, and polyploid cells; e percentage of total apoptotic cells, consisting of early-stage (annexin⁺/7-AAD⁻) plus late-stage (annexin⁺/7-AAD⁺) cells; f total cell number over time. BRP alone induced apoptosis without perturbing the cell cycle drastically. PTX > 5 nM induced a transient increase in G2/M phase, followed by the accumulation of polyploid cells. Compared to PTX alone, the BRP/PTX combination decreased cells in G2/M phase and polyploid cells, and increased apoptosis. Symbols represent experimental observations (n = 3) and solid lines represent model-fitted profiles. The solid grey line with no symbols shows the simulated profile for the control group assuming no growth limitation