Fig. 5

Huaier synergized with 5-FU promoting the inhibition of both constitutive and Inducible STAT3 phosphorylation by IL-6. The total STAT3 and p-STAT proteins expression in cytoplasm (a and b) and nucleus (c and d) were detected using Western blot after 48 h treatment with Huaier and 5-FU alone or in combination. In the meantime, the effect of combination therapy on p-STAT3 Induced by IL-6 were also checked. Relative optical density of proteins were analyzed by Image J. All results are expressed as mean ± SD of three independent experiments. ^*P < 0.05, ^**P < 0.01, ^***P < 0.001, compared with control group, while ^#P < 0.05, ^##P < 0.01, ^###P < 0.001, compared with combination group