Fig. 4

Sorafenib induces apoptosis and downregulates Mcl-1 expression in MPM TICs. a Amount of cell death (early and late apoptosis) in TIC cultures after IC₅₀ and 2 × IC₅₀ sorafenib exposure for 48 and 72 h. Data are mean ± SD of the percentages of Annexin V-positive cells (n = 3). Significant differences were detected between vehicle-treated and sorafenib-treated cancer cells. b Western blot analysis for Mcl-1 expression in cells treated with IC₅₀ and 2 × IC₅₀ sorafenib or control (vehicle-treated) for 24 and 48 h. Lysates were probed by western blot assay for Mcl-1 (upper panels). Blots were stripped and reprobed with anti-α-tubulin antibody to normalize for differences in protein loading. Immunoblotting was performed three times using independently prepared cell lysates. Data presented as mean ± SEM from different experiments (lower panels). Statistical significance in all panels of this figure was determined. *p <0.05, **p <0.01, ***p <0.001 vs respective controls. CTR control.