Extended Data Fig. 7: In vivo evaluation of intracellular polymerization for cancer treatment.

a–c, Tumor size progression in BALB/c nude mice bearing different tumor models: HeLa (a), MDA-MB-231 (b), and 4T1 (c) over a specified number of days. Mice were subjected to different treatment regimens, and data are representative of n = 5 mice per group. Error bars represent for standard deviations. d, Histological analyses of tumor sections stained with hematoxylin/eosin (H&E), TUNEL, and Ki67. Each staining method illuminates different features within the tumor tissue, including cellular morphology, apoptosis, and proliferation, respectively. Red arrowheads highlight areas of interest. e, f, Quantitative evaluations of the tumor sections. The number of TUNEL-positive cells (E) and Ki67-positive cells (F) are represented. Cell numbers were quantified from six random areas within the tissue, with each experiment conducted with n = 6 samples. Statistical evaluations were executed using one-way ANOVA accompanied by a Dunnett post-test in comparison with the untreated control groups. Levels of significance are denoted as: *P < 0.05, ***P < 0.001, ****P < 0.0001, ns (not significant). g, Visual representation of the xenografted tumors at day 14 post various treatments, showcasing the size reduction in response to intracellular polymerization. h, Comprehensive hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) stained lung sections taken from mice on day 19 post-treatment. These illustrations offer insights into potential metastatic spread, with metastatic sites demarcated by black dashed lines. Scale notations: For H&E images in (d), the scale bar corresponds to 1 mm, whereas for the TUNEL and Ki67 images, the scale bar represents 200 μm and 2 mm in (h). Panels b–h reproduced with permission from ref. ²⁰, American Chemical Society.