fig4

Figure 4. Treatment with low concentrations of curcumin sensitizes the QLCs to the antimitotic agent, 5-FU: Serum-starved KG1a cells were incubated with different concentrations of curcumin (10-100 µg/mL) for 48 h. After 48 h, the QLCs were further incubated with 5-FU (6 µg/mL) for another 24 h. When the cells were subjected to MTT assay (E), it was observed that the percent proliferation of QLCs exposed to the combination treatment (10CU + 5-FU, 20CU + 5-FU) was lower than for the cells treated with only 5-FU. The data represent mean ± S.E.M. of three independed expriments (** P ≤ 0.01). (A-D) They represent phase contrast images using a 20 × objective of an inverted microscope (Carl Zeiss, 200 × magnifications) of QLCs exposed to curcumin and/or 5-FU. (A) Vehicle control QLCs growing in clumps; (B) QLCs exposed to 10 µg/mL curcumin, showing maximum proliferation; (C) QLCs exposed to only 5-FU; (D) QLCs exposed to 10 µg/mL curcumin and 5-FU, showing fewer cells, indicating that the QLCs have been more efficiently killed by 5-FU; (E) graphical representation of QLCs subjected to MTT assay