Fig. 6: Effects of APG350 treatment on recurrent tumor growth and metastasis.

PancTuI cells were injected orthotopically into pancreas of SCID bg mice. Fourteen days later primary tumor resection was performed via subtotal pancreatectomy. Four days later mice were randomized and treated i.p. with TRAIL (3 mg/kg body weight), APG350 (3 mg/kg body weight) or PBS for 5 consecutive days. On day of sacrifice (day 36), tumors were removed and weighed. Metastases were macroscopically identified and counted. Representative MRI scan pictures showing recurrent tumor growth a and liver metastases b in PBS-, TRAIL- or APG350-treated animals on day 22 after primary tumor resection. c Effect of TRAIL and APG350 on PancTuI-derived tumors. Recurrent tumor weight is shown as box plots with median; top of each box, 75th percentile; bottom of box, 25th percentile. Significance was tested by Mann–Whitney U-test, *p < 0.05. d Number of mice that developed recurrent tumor only or recurrent tumor and liver metastases. e Paraffin-embedded tumors were sectioned and stained with antibodies against Ki67. Each tumor was scanned and Ki67 positive cells were evaluated per 100 tumor cells. f Correlation between recurrent tumor weight and degree of proliferation as detected by counting Ki67-positive cells. g Images showed CD31 stained tumor cells in TRAIL, APG350- or PBS-treated tissue