Fig. 5: Naphthofluorescein attenuates tumour growth and boosts the effects of anticancer drugs in vivo.

a Tumour growth of E0771 cells in C57BL/6 mice (n = 8) treated with vehicle or naphthofluorescein (Naph; 100 mg/kg b.w.). Mice were intraperitoneally injected with vehicle or Naph five times a week (top). Photos of tumours at day 14 after initiation of therapy. Scale bar = 1 cm (bottom); tumour volumes of E0771 cells in mice. b Immunohistochemical (IHC) analysis of CD8α in tumours of E0771 cells treated with vehicle or Naph. Scale bars = 100 μm. c, d Tumour growth of MDA-MB-231 (c) and AsPC-1 (d) cells in immunodeficient mice treated with vehicle or Naph (100 mg/kg b.w.). Mice were intraperitoneally injected with vehicle or Naph five times a week (n = 6). e, f Tumour growth of MDA-MB-231 (e) and AsPC-1 (f) cells in immunodeficient mice treated with vehicle or Naph (100 mg/kg b.w.) in combination with vehicle, doxorubicin (DOX; 2 mg/kg b.w.), or gemcitabine (GEM; 20 mg/kg b.w.) twice a week (n = 5). g, h Immunostaining of cleaved caspase-3 in tumours of MDA-MB-231 from vehicle- or Naph-treated mice in combination with DOX at day 14 after initiation of therapy. g Representative photos. h Cleaved caspase-3-positive areas were counted in tumour sections (n = 18, from six tumours per group). In (a), (c–f), and (h), error bars indicate the SEM. Data were analysed using the Mann–Whitney U test. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001.