Fig. 5: ASAH1 inhibitor carmofur inhibits TNBC tumor growth and spontaneous metastasis in an orthotopic xenograft model of TNBC.

A–F Firefly luciferase-labeled MDA-MB-231 cells were injected orthotopically in the mammary fat pad of female NSG mice (n = 3). The mice were administered either vehicle or carmofur (20 mg/kg body weight) intraperitoneally every other day, and tumor growth was analyzed by IVIS imaging. A Bioluminescence images of the whole body of mice at week 3 and week 7 in vehicle or carmofur-treated group. B Bioluminescence intensity of the mice measured at weeks 3 and 7 after treatment with either vehicle or carmofur shown in (A) is plotted. C Representative bioluminescence images of the lungs from mice after week 7 of treatment with either vehicle or carmofur. D Representative bioluminescence images of the livers from mice after week 7 of treatment with either vehicle or carmofur. E Bioluminescence intensity of the lungs measured at week 7 in vehicle or carmofur-treated group shown in (C). F Bioluminescence intensity of the livers measured at week 7 in vehicle or carmofur-treated group shown in (D). G Incidence of lung metastasis in mice treated with either vehicle or carmofur. H Incidence of liver metastasis in mice treated with either vehicle or carmofur. I–L TNBC PDX (TM00096 and TM00098) were subcutaneously injected into the flanks of female NSG mice (n = 3). The mice were administered with either vehicle or carmofur (20-mg/kg body weight) intraperitoneally every other day. The average tumor volume was assessed weekly and plotted (I, K). Representative images of the tumors after treatment with vehicle or carmofur at the endpoint (J, L). Data represent the mean ± standard error for three biological replicates. *P < 0.05, ****P < 0.0001, ns not significant.