Fig. 6: IGF2BP3 knockdown glioma cells fail to form tumors in xenograft mice model and are more susceptible to human microglia cells.

A 5 ×10⁶ U87 cells with or without IGF2BP3 knockdown were subcutaneously injected into the rear flank of nude mice. Mice were sacrificed, and the tumors were excised (n = 4). B The volume of tumors was measured every two days before mice were sacrificed, tumor volume was calculated using the formula V = (W² × L) / 2, where V represents the tumor volume, W indicates the tumor width, and L denotes the tumor length; the weight of the tumors and mice was measured after mice were sacrificed (n = 4). C The expression of IGF2BP3 in xenograft tumors and normal mice brains was assessed using IHC. The differences in IGF2BP3 expression between tumors and brains were quantified using Image Pro-Plus software and analyzed using paired two-tailed t-test (n = 4). D U87-GFP and HS683-GFP cells with or without IGF2BP3 knockdown were co-cultured with human microglia-mCherry cells. The phagocytic function of microglia cells was visualized using confocal microscopy. E U87 and HS683 cells were infected with shIGF2BP3-2 lentivirus to knockdown IGF2BP3 or infected with shNC lentivirus as a control. The protein expression levels of STING and p-STING in U87 and HS683 cells, as well as in human microglia cells co-cultured with U87 and HS683 cells, were verified using western blot analysis. F The p-STING expression level in HS683 cells with or without IGF2BP3 knockdown was assessed using immunofluorescence. The fluorescent intensity was quantified using Image Pro-Plus software, and the data were analyzed using paired two-tailed t-test. Data are presented as the mean ± standard deviation (SD) from three independent experiments. ***p < 0.001, **p < 0.01, *p < 0.05.