Fig. 1

Inhibition of cell proliferation by co-targeting EGFR and IKK in HNSCC cells. a–c Gefitinib and IKKβ inhibitor CmpdA synergistically inhibit cell proliferation. Cal27 (a), FaDu, (b) and SCC25 (c) cells were treated with DMSO, Gefitinib, CmpdA or a combination for 72 h and cell proliferation was determined by the MTS assay. The experiments were performed in triplicate, and the results are representative of three independent experiments. The combination index values (CI values) were determined using the CalcuSyn software. d–f Synergistic inhibition of colony formation by Gefitinib and CmpdA combination. Cal27 (d), FaDu, (e) and SCC25 (f) cells were treated with DMSO, Gefitinib, CmpdA or a combination for 24 h and colony formation was observed 10 days after treatment. Each experiment was repeated three times