title: Combined Treatment with Stattic and Docetaxel Alters the Bax/Bcl-2 Gene Expression Ratio in Human Prostate Cancer Cells
abstract: Docetaxel, recognized as a stabilizing microtubule agent, is frequently administrated as a first line treatment for
  prostate cancers. Due to high side effects of monotherapy, however, combinations with novel adjuvants have emerged
  as an alternative strategy in cancer therapy protocols. Here, we investigated the combined effects of stattic and docetaxel
  on the DU145 prostate cancer cell line. Cytotoxicity was evaluated by MTT assay. To understand molecular mechanisms
  of stattic action, apoptotic related genes including Bcl-2, Mcl-1, Survivin and Bax were evaluated by real-time RT-PCR.
  Alteration in the expression of pro-apoptotic Bax and anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 genes and Bax/Bcl-2 ratio were investigated
  via the 2ΔΔCT method. The IC50 values for docetaxel and stattic were 3.7 ± 0.9 nM and 4.6±0.8 μM, respectively.
  Evaluation of key gene expression levels revealed a noticeable decrease in antiapoptotic Bcl-2 and Mcl-1 along with
  an increase in pro-apoptotic Bax mRNA levels (p<0.05). Our results suggest that combination of a STAT3 inhibitor
  with doctaxel can be considered as a potent strategy for induction of apoptosis via increasing Bax mRNA expression.
authors.affiliation: Drug Applied Research Center, Department of Medical Biotechnology, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran|Students’ Research Committee, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran. Email: drnsamadi@
  yahoo.com
authors.forename: Jamal
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mohammadian
authors.forename: Mehdi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sabzichi
authors.forename: Ommoleila
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Molavi
authors.forename: Dariush
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Shanehbandi
authors.forename: Nasser
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Samadi
keywords: Prostate cancer cells; apoptosis; docetaxel; monotherapy; combination chemotherapy; stattic