Fig. 7

P53/p21 pathway was involved in the synergistic anticancer effect of crocetin and cisplatin. a Expression levels p53, p21 in KYSE-150 cells, as determined by Western blot analysis. b Cell viability in the presence of 2 μM PFT-α (p53 inhibitor) for 48 h. c Morphological changes after adding PFT-α. d MMP changes after the application of PFT-α. e Western blot analysis of p53, p21, and apoptosis-related protein expression after adding PFT-α. C + D, 200 μmol/L of crocetin + 2 μg/L of cisplatin, C + D + P, 200 μmol/L of crocetin + 2 μg/L of cisplatin + 2 μmol/L PFT-α. *p < 0.05 compared with the control group; ^#p < 0.05 compared with the combined crocetin and cisplatin treatment group