Fig. 5

Targeting CD133 improves chemotherapeutic efficacy in drug resistant Res186 and Res199 cells. a and b Real-time PCR and western blots for ABCB1 gene expression and protein alterations of CD133, total Akt, p-Akt (S473 and T308), NF-κB/p65, p-NF-κB/p65 and MDR1 in DOX-R, VIN-R, VCR-R Res186 and Res199 cells transfected with siCD133, compared to control (siCtrl) cells, respectively. c, d and e Apoptosis with quantitative analysis by flow-cytometry, nuclear fragmentation and cell viability of DOX-R, VIN-R, VCR-R Res186 and Res199 cells transfected with siCD133 or siCtrlfor 48 h, followed by continued treatment with 0.1 μg/ml of indicated drug for 72 h after transfection, respectively. (For a, c, d and e, each column represents the mean ± s.d. of a minimum of three independent experiments done in triplicate; * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01)