Research Paper Volume 9, Issue 12 pp 2610—2628
Targeting flavin-containing enzymes eliminates cancer stem cells (CSCs), by inhibiting mitochondrial respiration: Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin) in cancer therapy
Figure 2. DPI selectively depletes ATP without inducing massive cell death. MCF7 cells were treated with DPI for 72 hours and were first subjected to fluorescent Hoechst staining (DNA content) and then to the luminescent measurement of the ATP content in the same wells, using CellTiter-Glo as a probe. Note that at 72 hours, 500 nM DPI selectively depletes ATP levels by >80%, but does not significantly induce cell death, as the number of cells attached to the plate remains the unchanged (as detected by DNA content).