Fig. 5

Depletion of PIG3 sensitizes NSCLC cells to docetaxel through promoting apoptosis and senescence. a Forty-eight hrs following transfection with PIG3 and control siRNAs, A549 cells were exposed to various concentrations of docetaxel. Cell proliferation was determined by CCK8 assay 48 h post treatment. The data are expressed as the mean and standard deviations from three independent experiments (^** P < 0.01). b Forty-eight hrs following transfection with PIG3 and control siRNAs, A549 cells were treated with 5 μg/ml docetaxel or DMSO for 24 h. Apoptotic cells were detected using the Annexin V staining method. The data are expressed as mean and standard deviations from three independent experiments, ^** P < 0.01 as compared to control siRNA transfected cells under similar treatment conditions of docetaxel. c and d Forty-eight hrs following transfection with PIG3 and control siRNAs, A549 cells were treated with different concentrations (0, 5 and 10 μg/ml) of docetaxel for 24 h or 5 μg/ml of docetaxel for indicated time intervals (0, 6, 16 and 24 h). Apoptosis was determined by PARP-1 cleavage (indicated by an arrow) following Western blot analysis. e SA-β-gal staining of NSCLC cells. PIG3 depleted and control A549 cells were treated with 0, 5 and 10 μg/ml of docetaxel for 48 h and then stained for SA-β-gal activity. f Quantitative analysis of senescent cells. The results were generated from three independent experiments (^* P < 0.05, ^** P < 0.01)