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

Figure 4 Erlotinib can synergize with mitochondria-targeted ubiquinone to suppress the viability of pancreatic adenocarcinoma cells. A: Cells, pretreated with different concentrations of erlotinib, were treated with different doses of mitochondria-targeted ubiquinone (MitoQ) for 48 h prior to crystal violet viability assay. Data (mean ± SEM, n ≥ 3) are expressed as the percentage of untreated controls; B: SynergyFinder plotting of the viability data. The ZIP (zero interaction potency) scores are indicated for the most synergistic areas; C: Western blot analysis of PANC-1 cells maintained in the human plasma-like medium with 1% O₂. β-actin is the control for equal protein loading; D: PANC-1 cells pretreated with erlotinib for 24 h were treated with MitoQ for 48 h in the human plasma-like medium with 1% O₂ prior to crystal violet viability assay. Data (mean ± SEM, n ≥ 3) are expressed as the percentage of untreated controls; E: SynergyFinder plotting of the viability data. The ZIP score is indicated for the most synergistic area. ^aP < 0.05. ^bP < 0.005. ^cP < 0.001, Two-way ANOVA with Bonferroni post-tests. MitoQ: Mitochondria-targeted ubiquinone.