High incidence and mortality rates for non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) lead to low survival rates. Epidermal growth factor receptor-tyrosine kinase inhibitors (EGFR-TKI) are commonly first prescribed for NSCLC patients with EGFR mutations. However, most patients with sensitizing EGFR mutations become resistant to EGFR-TKI after 9-13 months treatment. Yiqi Chutan Tang (YQCT) has been prescribed as a treatment to this issue for over 20 years. In this report, high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis, flow cytometry, western blot analysis, and functional annotation analysis were applied to uncover the molecular mechanisms of YQCT. Our results show the application of YQCT reduces gefitinib-induced drug resistance, induces slight cell cycle arrest, enhances gefitinib-induced apoptosis, and activates the autophagy. These results indicate that at the molecular level YQCT can reduce drug resistance and improve anti-cancer effects when associated with gefitinib, which could be a result of enhancement of apoptosis and autophagy in the EGFR-TKI resistant cells of NSCLC. This research provides a new treatment strategy for patients with EGFR-TKI resistance in NSCLC. © 2019 The Authors. Cytometry Part A published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of International Society for Advancement of Cytometry.

中文翻译：

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益气除痰汤通过靶向细胞凋亡和自噬降低吉非替尼诱导的非小细胞肺癌耐药性。

非小细胞肺癌（NSCLC）的高发病率和死亡率导致低存活率。通常首先将表皮生长因子受体酪氨酸激酶抑制剂（EGFR-TKI）用于具有EGFR突变的NSCLC患者。但是，大多数具有致敏性EGFR突变的患者在9-13个月的治疗后对EGFR-TKI产生抗药性。医气除痰汤（YQCT）已被处方为治疗此问题的方法已有20多年的历史了。在本报告中，应用了高效液相色谱（HPLC）分析，流式细胞仪，蛋白质印迹分析和功能注释分析来揭示YQCT的分子机制。我们的结果表明，YQCT的应用降低了吉非替尼诱导的耐药性，诱导了轻微的细胞周期停滞，增强了吉非替尼诱导的细胞凋亡，并激活了自噬。这些结果表明，在分子水平上，当与吉非替尼联用时，YQCT可以降低耐药性并改善抗癌作用，这可能是NSCLC EGFR-TKI耐药细胞中凋亡和自噬增强的结果。该研究为NSCLC中EGFR-TKI耐药的患者提供了一种新的治疗策略。©2019作者。细胞计数法A部分，由Wiley Periodicals，Inc.代表国际细胞计数发展协会出版。