Fig. 2
Decreased initiation of colitis-associated cancer in ageing mice. a Schematic overview of the early phase of the CAC model, A+D-d0 means normal mice. b Weight change during the early phase of CAC in young (~3 months) and ageing (~14 months) mice. Young, n = 15; Ageing, n = 11. c High-resolution endoscopic images of young and ageing colon at 0, 7, 10 and 21 days after the beginning of DSS feeding. d Representative H&E staining of colon tissues at 0, 7, 10 and 21 days after the beginning of DSS feeding. The histopathological grading of inflammation in young and ageing mice was recorded. A+D-d0, n = 5; A+D-d7, n = 8; A+D-d10, n = 10; A+D-d21, n = 12. Data are mean ± SD. Scale bars, 50 μm. e Immunofluorescence images of the temporal re-epithelialization process during the early phase of the CAC model in young and ageing mice. Sections were immunolabeled with Epcam and Myh11. Scale bars, 50 μm. f Detection of GFP and α-SMA at A+D-d21 in colon tissues of young and ageing Lgr5-eGFP+/- mice. Scale bars, 50 μm. g Immunohistochemical staining of Ki67 and p-stat3 (malignant transformation marker) in colon tissues at A+D-d21 in young and ageing mice. Scale bars, 50 μm. h Representative macroscopic images of CAC in young and ageing mice at A+D-d63. Tumor number and tumor area per colon were measured. Young, n = 25; Ageing, n = 19, P < 0.0001. Data are mean ± SD. i Pearson correlation between the wound healing score during the early phase of the CAC model and the parallel tumor numbers at A+D-d63. The wound healing score was measured by the ratio of recovered body weight to the start body weight. Black spot represents one young mouse, and red spot represents one ageing mouse. Pearson r = 0.68, P < 0.001, n = 22
