Fig. 1

Pentamidine inhibits proliferation of Ishikawa and HEC-1A cells. A, B Ishikawa and HEC-1A cells were treated with Pentamidine (0, 2.5, 5.0, 7.5, 15 μmol/L) for 0, 24, 48 or 72 h. And then cell viability was determined by MTS assay. Statistical analysis was performed between cells treated with 0 μmol/L Pentamidine and each of the other drug concentration groups. Data are presented as mean ± standard deviation from three independent experiments. P value refers to one-way ANOVA. *P < 0.05. C Long-term colony formation assays of Ishikawa and HEC-1A cells induced by pentamidine (0, 2.5, 5.0, 7.5 μmol/L). D The number of colonies was calculated using ImageJ. Data are presented as mean ± standard deviation from three independent experiments. P value refers to one-way ANOVA. *P < 0.05. E Cell cycle distribution of Ishikawa and HEC-1A cells incubated with 5 μmol/L pentamidine for 24 h. F The percentage of cells at different cell cycle phases