Sodium butyrate with UCN-01 has marked antitumour activity against cervical cancer cells.

The effect of combining sodium butyrate (NaB), a histone deacetylase inhibitor, and 7-hydroxy-staurosporine (UCN-01) on cytotoxicity in human cervical carcinoma cells was evaluated.HeLa and CaSki cells were treated using NaB alone or in combination with staurosporine (STS) or its analog UCN-01. Cytotoxicity was determined by flow cytometry and morphological assays. Apoptotic pathways were characterized by Western blotting and immunostaining. CaSki cells were also xenografted into nude mice to assess the in vivo effects of NaB/UCN-01 combination.Treatment with NaB and STS or UCN-01 resulted in enhanced apoptosis of cancer cells. Apoptosis involved mitochondrial pathways and overexpression of…