The role of p53 status on the synergistic effect of CKD-602 and cisplatin on oral squamous cell carcinoma cell lines

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the synergistic apoptotic effect of CKD-602 in combination with cisplatin on different p53 statuses of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) cell lines, YD-8, YD-9, and YD-38. MTT assays were used to evaluate the inhibitory effect of the treatments modality on cell growth. The combination index was calculated using CompuSyn software. Detection of cell death was carried out using the propidium iodide (PI)/RNase staining assay, Annexin V/PI double staining assay, and Western blotting. Combination treatment using CKD-602 and cisplatin inhibited proliferation and increased the apoptotic effect on the three OSCC cell lines. Apoptotic cell death was detected in the cell lines, and significant synergistic effects of CKD-602 in combination with cisplatin were observed despite the differences in p53 status. From these results, it was suggested that the combination of CKD-602 with cisplatin might be a potential therapeutic strategy for OSCC. In particular, cell line-specific therapy is necessary because of the differences in treatment response based on p53 status.