All experiments were repeated 3 times under the same conditions. 1.7 Detection of cell apoptosis MEK inhibition by flow cytometry Cells were inoculated into a 25-mL flask and treated with drugs as described in 1.5 when they covered 80% of the flask. After being treated for 48 h, cells were digested by trypsin, collected by centrifuge, resuspended in an EP tube with PBS, and fixed in 1% polymerisatum. Before being used in the experiment, the cells were washed three times

in PBS, added Annexin-V/PI stored in 4°C, stood at room temperature without light for 3 min, and were filtered in 300-mesh filter traps. Flow cytometry (Facsvantage SE; BD) was used to analyze cell apoptosis. 1.8 Reverse-transcribed Selleck LY3009104 quantitative PCR detection of IGF-1R, PDGFA, NGF, NF-κB, and JNK2 mRNA expression in primary breast cancer cells and breast cancer cell line MDA-MB-231 Cells were inoculated into four 75-mL flasks (5 × 105 cells/mL) and cultured for 48 h in RPMI-1640 culture medium plus 10% fetal bovine serum. After removing the original medium, cells were treated for 48 h with drugs as described in 1.5. Total RNA in all experimental groups was isolated with RNAiso Plus following instructions. The concentration and purity of isolated total RNA was measured by ultraviolet spectrophotometry. The cDNA was then reverse-transcribed Selleck RG7112 according to the instructions in the reagent kit

and amplified via PCR with β-actin and glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) as inner consults. Primer design software Primer 5.0 from Shanghai Biotechnology (Shanghai, China) was used to

design the primer. The primer sequence was as follows. Up primer of IGF-1R: 5′TGGAGTGCTGTATGCCTCTGTG-3′, down primer of IGF-1R: 5′-GTGGACGAACTTATTGGCGTTG-3′, amplified product: 493 bp. Up primer of PDGFA: 5′-CCCGCAGTCAGATCCACAGCAT-3′, down primer of PDGFA: 5′-TTCCCGTGTCCTCTTCCCGATA-3′, amplified product: 483 bp. Up primer of NGF: 5′-CCCCCTTCAACAGGACTCAC-3′, down primer of NGF: 5′-GGTCTTATCCCCAACCCACA-3′, amplified product: 110 bp. Up primer of NF-κB: 5′-CTTCAGAATGGCAGAAGATGA-3′, down primer of NF-κB: 5′-CACATACATAACGGAAACGAAA-3′, amplified product: 191 bp. Up primer of JNK2: 5′-TGCGTCACCCATACATCACT-3′, down primer of JNK2: 5′-TGCTTCTTTCTTCCCAATCC-3′, amplified product: 156 bp. Up primer of Nutlin-3 mouse GAPDH: 5′-ATCAACGGGAAACCCATCAC-3′, down primer of GAPDH: 5′-CGCCAGTAGACTCCACGACAT-3′, amplified product: 98 bp. Up primer of β-actin: 5′-CACCCGCGAGTACAACCTTC-3′, down primer of β-actin: 5′-CCCATACCCACCATCACACC-3′, amplified product: 207 bp. The reaction conditions were as follows: denaturation at 94°C for 30 s, at 58°C for 30 s, and at 72°C for 1 min, for a total of 35 cycles. A total of 5 μL test factor and internal amplified product were separately subjected to agarose gel electrophoresis and analyzed via the Gel Doc-XR quantitative analysis system.