Decoction of Chinese Herbal Medicine Fuzheng Kang-Ai Induces Lung Cancer Cell Apoptosis via STAT3/Bcl-2/Caspase-3 Pathway

Figure 6

Activation of caspase-3 mediates FZKA-induced apoptosis. (a-b) H1650 and A549 cells were seeded into 6-well plates and treated with increased doses of FZKA or the pan-caspase inhibitor Z-VAD-FMK at 50 μM for 1 h before exposing the cells to FZKA for an additional 24 h. Afterwards, cells were harvested for analysis of apoptosis using the Annexin V-FITC/PI Apoptosis Detection Kit as detailed in Materials and Methods. The AB3 quadrant (annexin V−/PI−), AB4 quadrant (annexin V+/PI−), and AB2 quadrant (annexin V+/PI+) of the histograms indicated the percentage of normal cells, early apoptosis, and late apoptosis, respectively. Values in bar graphs were given as the mean ± SD from three independent experiments performed in triplicate. indicates significant difference as compared to the untreated control group ().

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