Fig. 6

The combination of apatinib and CQ sensitized ESCC cells to paclitaxel, which inhibited their proliferation and induced apoptosis. a–f ECA-109 and KYSE-150 cells were treated with different concentrations of paclitaxel with or without apatinib (25 μM) and CQ (10 μM) for 24, 48 and 72 h and cell viability was evaluated by CCK-8 assay. g, h IC50 values were calculated. i–k Representative images of the colonies formed and colony quantification were shown. Cells were treated with paclitaxel (5 nM) with or without apatinib (25 μM) and CQ (10 μM). Apoptosis was assessed by Annexin V-FITC and propidium iodide (PI) staining (l–n). Western blotting was used to measure the expression levels of related genes (o–q). * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01, *** p < 0.001 compared with control group