Fig. 4
Autophagy induced by CuPd TNP-1 promoted cell survival. a, b Cell viability (a) and Annexin-V/PI assay (b) of HeLa cells after treatment for 24 h with the indicated combination. TNP-1 or TNP-2: 10 μg mL-1; 3-MA: 2.5 mM; NIR irradiation: 1 W cm2^-1, 3 min. FACS analysis in b showed the relative percentage of live (lower-left quadrant), early apoptotic (lower-right quadrant) and late apoptotic/necrotic (upper-right quadrant) cells. Mean ± s.e.m. n = 5, ***p < 0.001. Student’s t-test. c Cell viability of wild-type (Atg5 + / + ) and Atg5 knockout (Atg5-/-) HeLa cells after treatment with PBS (control), 10 μg mL TNP-1 or 10 μg mL−1 TNP-2 for 24 h in the presence of absence of NIR irradiation for 3 min. Mean ± s.e.m. n = 5, ***p < 0.001. Student’s t-test. d Top panel: the 15-day PTT regimen, with the mice receiving tail vein injection (PBS or 1.5 mg kg−1 of TNP-1 or TNP-2) on day 1 and 4 and PTT treatment on the tumor on day 2 and 5. Lower panel: the tumor weight on day 15. Mean ± s.e.m. n = 4, *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001. Student’s t-test. e, f Cell viability of 4T1 (e) and MCF-7/MDR (f) cells after treatment for 24 h with the indicated combination. TNP-1 or TNP-2: 10 μg mL−1; 3-MA: 2.5 mM; Dox, 25 mM; NIR irradiation: 1 W cm2^-1, 3 min. Mean ± s.e.m. n = 5, ***p < 0.001. Student’s t-test. g Western blotting of breast cancer patient-derived tumor cells after treatment with PBS (control) or 10 μg mL−1 CuPd TNPs for 24 h. The right panel showed quantified results. Mean ± s.e.m. n = 3. ***p < 0.001. Student’s t-test. h Cell viability of breast cancer patient-derived tumor cells after treatment for 24 h with the indicated combination. TNP-1 or TNP-2: 10 μg mL−1; 3-MA: 2.5 mM; CQ, 25 mM; NIR irradiation: 1 W cm2^-1, 3 min. Mean ± s.e.m. n = 5, ***p < 0.001. Student’s t-test
