Figure 1

Thapsigargin and TRAIL co-treatment inhibit the viability in human ESCC cells, but not in human normal esophageal epithelial cells.

Human ESCC cells (EC109 and TE12) were treated with increasing concentrations of thapsigargin (1 and 2 μM) and TRAIL (100 and 200 ng/ml) for 24 h. The cell viability was analyzed by MTT. Meanwhile, human normal esophageal epithelial cells (HET-1A) were given the same treatment as above. The cell viability is expressed as OD values. The morphology of both of the ESCC cells and normal esophageal epithelial cells were observed under an inverted phase-contrast microscope after the cells were treated for 24 h, and images were obtained. Significant cell shrinkage and a decreased cellular attachment rate were observed in the thapsigargin or TRAIL treatment groups, especially in drug combination. All of the results are expressed as the mean ± SD; n = 6. ^aP < 0.05 vs. the control group in EC109 cells, ^abP < 0.05 vs. the control group in TE12 cells.