Fig. 1

Combination treatment with metformin and ATO synergistically suppresses proliferation in ICC cells in vitro. a After treatment with 10 mmol/L metformin and 3 μmol/L ATO in combination or single treatments in ICC cells, the real-time cell growth was monitored for 72 h by using RTCA Analyzer and the growth cures were shown. b ICC cells were treated with different concentrations of metformin and ATO for 48 h, CCK assay was used evaluating the cell viability. The combination index was calculated as described in Methods. CI values less than one is considered synergism. c and d After 48 h of treatment with 10 mmol/L metformin, 3 μmol/L ATO, or their combination, ICC cells were examined using PI staining and the cell cycle distribution was measured by flow cytometric analysis. (Combination vs metformin or combination vs ATO ^* P < 0.05)