Apoptotic effect of cordycepin combined with cisplatin and/or paclitaxel on MA-10 mouse Leydig tumor cells

BACKGROUND: Chemotherapy is not limited to a single treatment, and the evidence demonstrates that different drug combinations can have positive results in patients. In this study, we sought to determine whether cordycepin combined with cisplatin and/or paclitaxel would have an additive effective on inducing apoptosis in mouse Leydig tumor cells, and the mechanisms were also briefly examined. METHODS: The additive effects of cordycepin combined with cisplatin and/or paclitaxel on apoptosis in MA-10 cells were investigated by monitoring changes in morphological characteristics and examining cell viability, flow cytometry assays, and Western blot analyses. RESULTS: Combination of cordycepin plus cisplatin and/or paclitaxel for 12 and 24 hours induced apoptotic features in MA-10 cells. The MTT assay showed that the combination treatment reduced the viability of MA-10 cells in a dose-dependent manner, with additive effects. Cell cycle analysis showed that combination treatment significantly increased subG1 phase cell numbers in MA-10 cells, indicating apoptosis. Moreover, cordycepin plus cisplatin and/or paclitaxel significantly induced cleavage of caspase-8, caspase-9, caspase-3, and poly ADP-ribose polymerase, and phosphorylation of c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase, extracellular signal-regulated kinase, p38, and p53 proteins in MA-10 cells. CONCLUSION: Cordycepin plus cisplatin and/or paclitaxel can have an additive effect on apoptosis in MA-10 cells, with activation of caspase, mitogen-activated protein kinase, and p53 signal pathways.