Fig. 1
From: Integrated transcriptomic and functional modeling reveals AKT and mTOR synergy in colorectal cancer
Stepwise Resistance to Niche Signaling Stimuli Drives Colorectal Cancer Progression. a Schematic representation of colorectal cancer (CRC) progression from normal intestinal epithelium, following the classic Vogelstein paradigm, which involves the stepwise accumulation of mutations in APC, KRAS, TP53 and SMAD4. Created with BioRender.com. b Growth curves of engineered CRC models (AKT and AKTS) after xenografting into immunocompromised mice, AKT n = 8; AKTS n = 11. c Representative immunostaining of normal intestinal stem cell (WT)-derived colonies used in model development. Intestinal lineage markers (green or red), and nuclei are counterstained with DAPI (blue). Scale bar, 50 μm. d Hematoxylin and eosin staining of sectioned air–liquid interface (ALI)-grown structures derived from successive stages of the engineered CRC model. Scale bar, 100 μm. e Immunofluorescence labeling of intestinal and proliferation markers (green or red) in ALI-derived structures at various stages of CRC progression. Scale bar, 100 μm.
