Fig. 7: Bufalin inhibits HCC proliferation in vivo.
From: Therapeutic potential of targeting membrane-spanning proteoglycan SDC4 in hepatocellular carcinoma
a Bufalin decreased tumor volume in nude mice transplanted with HepG2 cells (mean ± SD, n = 5). b Bufalin reduced tumor weight in HepG2 xenograft mice compared with vehicle treatment. Red dots represent vehicle and blue dots denote bufalin treatment group. c Bufalin treatment did not significantly alter the body weight of HepG2 xenograft mice. Red dots symbolize vehicle and blue dots represent bufalin treatment group. d Bufalin treatment had no significant effect on the weight of heart, liver, lung, and kidney in HepG2 xenograft mice. Red dots represent vehicle and blue dots stand for bufalin treatment group. e H&E staining (left) was performed in tumors that developed in the vehicle and bufalin treatment groups (Scale bars = 50 μm). Black arrows denote apoptotic cells. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) analysis of Ki-67 and Claudin-1 (right) expression in the vehicle and bufalin treatment groups (Scale bars = 20 μm). Black arrows indicate Ki-67 and Claudin-1 positive staining cells. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01 vs. control group; ns, not significant by ANOVA with Student’s t-test.
