The human MPNST cell line FMS-1 [23] (link) and the human UPS cell line FPS-1 [22] (link) used in the present study, were established in our laboratory., Both FMS-1 and FPS-1 cells showed overexpression of COX-2, as demonstrated by immunohistochemistry, Western blotting, and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction analysis [51] (link), [52] . Cells were grown in RPMI-1640 medium (Sigma R8758, St. Louis, MO, USA) supplemented with 15% heat-inactivated fetal calf serum (FCS) (JRH Biosciences, Lenexa, KS, USA), 50 units/ml penicillin G, and 50 µg/ml streptomycin. The cells were inoculated into 25-cm2 tissue culture flasks (Iwaki Glass, Tokyo, Japan) and incubated at 37°C in a humidified atmosphere with 5% CO2.
Etodolac, a selective COX-2 inhibitor, was provided by Nippon Shinyaku Co. (Kyoto, Japan). A stock solution of etodolac was prepared in 99.5% ethanol and stored at −80°C. Caspase inhibitors (Z-VAD-FMK, broad caspase inhibitor; Ac-IETD-CHO, caspase-8 inhibitor; Ac-LEHD-CHO, caspase-9 inhibitor; Ac-DMQD-CHO, caspase-3 inhibitor) were obtained from Peptide Institute, Inc. (Osaka, Japan) and were dissolved in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) as stock solutions.
Etodolac, a selective COX-2 inhibitor, was provided by Nippon Shinyaku Co. (Kyoto, Japan). A stock solution of etodolac was prepared in 99.5% ethanol and stored at −80°C. Caspase inhibitors (Z-VAD-FMK, broad caspase inhibitor; Ac-IETD-CHO, caspase-8 inhibitor; Ac-LEHD-CHO, caspase-9 inhibitor; Ac-DMQD-CHO, caspase-3 inhibitor) were obtained from Peptide Institute, Inc. (Osaka, Japan) and were dissolved in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) as stock solutions.