Fig. 6: Lowering cholesterol levels in NSCLC cells can enhance their apoptosis sensitivity.

A Cell viability values of A549 and H1299 cells after incubation with different concentrations of cholesterol for 48 h. B Cell viability values showed the effect of cholesterol (5 μM) on the TDS effect of DDP. The x-axis values are expressed as log₁₀([DDP], μM). C Cell viability values of A549 and H1299 cells after incubation with different concentrations of MβCD for 48 h. D Cell viability values show the effect of MβCD (2.5 mM) on the efficacy of DDP. The x-axis values are expressed as log₁₀([DDP], μM). E A colony formation assay was performed to determine the effect of MβCD (2.5 mM) on the proliferation of DDP-treated A549 and H1299 cells. Quantitative analysis is presented on the right (n = 3). F Flow cytometry was performed to determine the effect of MβCD (2.5 mM) on apoptosis of DDP-treated A549 and H1299 cells. Quantitative analysis is presented on the right (n = 3). G A heat map illustrating cell viability values (A549) showing the impact of cholesterol-depletion combined with various chemotherapeutic drugs and cell death-inducing agents, such as cisplatin, pemetrexed, docetaxel, bortezomib, and ML162. H The schematic diagram illustrates that chemotherapy increases the probability of ED in NSCLC patients and that tandospirone can enhance the efficacy of chemotherapy by regulating the cholesterol level (The figure was created with BioRender.com). Data are expressed as the mean ± SD, n = 3, *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001.