Fig 1: Depletion of c-Myc enhances the chemosensitivity of colon CSCs through the regulation of ABCG2 and ABCB5 expression. (A) Chemotherapy treatment of HT-29 adherent cells resulted in a significant increase in cell death and disintegration, compared with colon CSCs, as observed by inverted phase contrast microscopy (bars, 50 µm). (B) The survival rates of c-Myc-siRNA-transfected CD133+ cells were significantly reduced compared with the scramble-siRNA group following treatment with 5-FU, oxaliplatin or FOLFOX (*P<0.05, **P<0.01). (C) c-Myc, Bmi1, ABCG-2 and ABCB5 were all downregulated in CD133+ colon CSCs, as determined by western blotting, following treatment with c-Myc siRNA. siRNA, small interfering RNA; CSC, cancer stem cell; FOLFOX, 5-FU plus oxaliplatin.