Combination of paclitaxel or docetaxel with R115777 is beneficial in the induction of apoptosis in MM patient bone marrow MNCs. MNCs were isolated from bone marrow aspirates and incubated with paclitaxel (P), docetaxel (D), and R115777 (R) at different concentrations (μM) for 48 to 72 hours. Cells were then stained with CD138-PE, annexin V-APC, and 7-AAD, and subjected to flow cytometric analysis as described in “Materials and methods.” Apoptosis in CD138⁺ and CD38^- cells was then analyzed. (A) Dot graphs showing annexin-V staining profiles of cells from patient no. 5 treated with different drugs at different concentrations. CD138⁺ cells were gated for analysis. (B) Summary of annexing staining results of MNCs from 6 patients after treatment with different drugs at different concentrations. Net increases in apoptotic cells after subtracting the apoptotic cells in the untreated group from CD138⁺(▨) and CD138^- (□) cells are shown.