Figure 3

Hypertonicity boosts SMAC mimetic-induced cell death in human ALL cells. (a–c) REH cells were treated with the indicated concentrations of the SMAC mimetics (a) BV6, (b) LCL161 and (c) birinapant (Biri) in the presence and absence of 50 mM NaCl. (d–f) Top panel: REH cells were challenged with the indicated concentrations of NaCl in the presence and absence of (a) 0.1 μM BV6, (b) 1 μM LCL161 or (c) 0.1 μM birinapant. Shown are data points and mean±S.E.M. from three independent experiments. Lower panel: For each combination of SMAC mimetic plus NaCl, the corresponding combination index (CI) value was calculated. CI-values <1 indicate a synergistic effect (see also the Materials and Methods section). CI-values were calculated from mean values derived from three independent experiments. (g) Cells were treated as in (c), but 100 mM mannitol was used to increase osmotic pressure. (h) KYM-1 cells were treated as in (b). Biri, birinapant