Fig. 1

Combination treatment of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and the different antibiotics (ampicillin (AMP), benzylpenicillin (BenP), flucloxacillin (FLU), meropenem (MER), and piperacillin (PIP)) does not influence the inhibiting effect induced by 5-FU on HCT-116 cells (A-E) or on FHs74Int (F). The metabolic activity, of HCT-116 cells and FHs74Int, was measured using MTT assay 48 h post-treatment with 5-FU {HCT-116 cells (16 μM and 24 μM); FHs74Int (16 μM)} in the presence and absence of the different antibiotics: MER, AMP and PIP (10, 50 and 100 μg/mL) and BenP and FLU (5, 25 and 50 μg/mL). Results are expressed with respect to their respective control. Each value is the mean ± SEM of three independent experiments. Statistical analysis was performed using one-tailed student t-test. *P < 0.05 and **P < 0.01 significant to control untreated cells