Caspases and ROS - dependent mechanism of action mediated by combination of WP 631 and epothilone B
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Updated: Apr 28, 2026

Lighting Up the Pathways to Caspase Activation Using Bimolecular Fluorescence Complementation
Published on: March 5, 2018
Aneta Rogalska, Barbara Bukowska, Agnieszka Marczak1
1Department of Thermo biology, Institute of Biophysics, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, University of Lodz, Pomorska 141/143, 90-236 Lodz, Poland. aszwar@biol.uni.lodz.pl.
Abstract:
In this article, the synergistic effects of WP 631 and epothilone B (Epo B) combination in human ovarian cancer cells (SKOV-3) cells are investigated and the reasons for the exact mechanisms of action of both drugs co-administered are explained. Compared with single drugs, the combination treatment significantly enhances apoptosis as confirmed by increases in caspases (-8, -9, -3) activity, ROS level and DNA damage and decreases in mitochondrial membrane potential. The combination of the compounds activated both caspase - 8 and -9, indicates that both pathways of apoptosis, extrinsic (induced by the effect of Epo B) and intrinsic (triggered mainly by WP 631) participate in the proposed treatment. Thus, the results of this study strongly suggest a synergistic action of the combined treatment with WP 631 and Epo B in SKOV-3 cells death induction.
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