Fig. 7: NVP-BEZ235 combined with IL-6 antibody effectively inhibits tumour progression and prolongs the survival time in mice with HCC.

A Scheme of the experimental procedure for NVP-BBEZ235, anti-IL-6 Ab, or the combination treatment. N-Ras/c-Myc/SB plasmids were transfected into all four groups of mice on Day 0. NVP-BBEZ235 (60 mg/kg) (or vehicle solution) was i.p. injected on Days 14-20, and anti-IL-6 Ab (or isotype IgG) was i.p. injected on Days 14, 16, and 18. All mice were euthanized 6 weeks after oncogene transfection. B Gross appearances of livers and H&E-stained liver sections in mice treated with NVP-BBEZ235, anti-IL-6 Ab, or their combination. Magnification, 100×; scale bar, 100 μm. C–F Tumour loads were evaluated by LW/BW ratios, SW/BW ratios, maximum diameter of nodules, and number of tumour nodules (mm). G Left: Representative immunostaining of Ki-67 tumour areas in liver sections. Magnification, 100×; scale bar, 100 μm. Right: Quantification of Ki67+ tumour cell numbers per field. H Kaplan–Meier survival curves of overall survival of the four groups of mice. Log-rank test was performed, n = 6 per group.