Fig. 5

The combination of DCA and PX-478 leads to increased levels of cleaved PARP and reduced levels of Cyclin D1 and pRB1 in HT-29 and MCF-7 cells. Cells were incubated to a confluence of approximately 80% and treated with DCA and PX-478 at the following concentrations: HT-29—DCA, EC₅₀ and PX-478, 0.5 x EC₅₀; MCF-7—either DCA and PX-478, 0.5 x EC₅₀ or EC₅₀. Twenty-four hours later, the cells were harvested, and Western blot analyses were performed. a: Three independent Western blots are shown for each antibody except for β-actin (only one representative blot is shown here). The blots presented here are cropped; please see additional file 2 for full-length blots. b: The results are presented as the fold change relative to the control. Significant differences are marked with an asterisk (*). The level of cleaved PARP was significantly increased in HT-29 cells treated with the combination (p = 0.00002) compared to HT-29 cells treated with the single compounds. For MCF-7 cells, a clear trend was visible for both concentrations (p = 0.086 or p = 0.087, respectively). Significant differences compared to the control are marked with an asterisk (*); significant differences between the combination of DCA and PX-478 and each single compound are marked with two asterisks (**). The combination of DCA and PX-478 significantly reduced cyclin D1 and pRB1 levels in both cell lines and at both concentrations in MCF-7 cells