title: Apoptotic effect of cordycepin combined with cisplatin and/or paclitaxel on MA-10 mouse Leydig tumor cells.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Chemotherapy is not limited to a single treatment, and the evidence demonstrates that different drug combinations can have positive results in patients. In this study, we sought to determine whether cordycepin combined with cisplatin and/or paclitaxel would have an additive effective on inducing apoptosis in mouse Leydig tumor cells, and the mechanisms were also briefly examined.
  
  
  METHODS
  The additive effects of cordycepin combined with cisplatin and/or paclitaxel on apoptosis in MA-10 cells were investigated by monitoring changes in morphological characteristics and examining cell viability, flow cytometry assays, and Western blot analyses.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Combination of cordycepin plus cisplatin and/or paclitaxel for 12 and 24 hours induced apoptotic features in MA-10 cells. The MTT assay showed that the combination treatment reduced the viability of MA-10 cells in a dose-dependent manner, with additive effects. Cell cycle analysis showed that combination treatment significantly increased subG1 phase cell numbers in MA-10 cells, indicating apoptosis. Moreover, cordycepin plus cisplatin and/or paclitaxel significantly induced cleavage of caspase-8, caspase-9, caspase-3, and poly ADP-ribose polymerase, and phosphorylation of c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase, extracellular signal-regulated kinase, p38, and p53 proteins in MA-10 cells.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Cordycepin plus cisplatin and/or paclitaxel can have an additive effect on apoptosis in MA-10 cells, with activation of caspase, mitogen-activated protein kinase, and p53 signal pathways.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesia, Chi Mei Medical Center, Chiali, Republic of China.
authors.forename: Fu-Chi
authors.initials: FC
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Republic of China.
authors.forename: Pei-Jung
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Republic of China ; Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Republic of China.
authors.forename: Bo-Syong
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Pan
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Republic of China ; Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Republic of China.
authors.forename: Meng-Shao
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Lai
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, School of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan, Republic of China.
authors.forename: Yung-Chia
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Republic of China ; Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Republic of China.
authors.forename: Bu-Miin
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Huang
keywords: Leydig tumor cells; MA-10 cells; additive effect; apoptosis; cisplatin; cordycepin; drug combination; paclitaxel