Erlotinib combination with a mitochondria-targeted ubiquinone effectively suppresses pancreatic cancer cell survival

Figure 2 Mitochondria-targeted ubiquinone can induce caspase-dependent apoptosis in pancreatic adenocarcinoma cells. A: Apoptosis analysis of cells treated with mitochondria-targeted ubiquinone (MitoQ), with or without Carbobenzoxy-valyl-alanyl-aspartyl-[O-methyl]-fluoromethylketone, for 24 h. CoQ10 is the functional moiety of MitoQ and triphenyl-phosphonium is the vehicle moiety. Gemcitabine is the positive control for apoptosis induction. Data (mean ± SEM, N ≥ 3) are expressed as the percentage of untreated controls. One-way ANOVA with Bonferroni post-tests; B: Western blot analysis of total lysates of cells treated as described. β-actin is the control for equal amounts of protein loading. ^aP < 0.05. ^cP < 0.001. MitoQ: Mitochondria-targeted ubiquinone; TPP: Triphenyl-phosphonium.