Fig. 7. The combination of PMB with sorafenib synergistically suppresses HCC in CDX and PDX models.

a Representative images of tumors and effects of the indicated treatments on tumor growth in the HepG2, HCCLM3 and Hepa1-6 CDX mouse models (n = 8 mice per group). b Effects of the indicated treatments on tumor weights in the indicated CDX models (n = 8 mice per group). c The tumor formation efficiency of HCC cells harvested from HepG2 and HCCLM3 CDX-derived HCC tumors was evaluated by in vivo limiting dilution assay. (n = 8 mice per group). d Strategy for establishing PDX models from HCC patients. e The expression of MYC and SCARB2 were examined by WB in adjacent and HCC tissues from HCC patient of PDX model. Data are representative images from three independent experiments. f Representative images of tumors in the indicated PDX models (n = 8 mice per group). g Effects of the indicated treatments on tumor growth in the indicated PDX model (n = 8 mice per group). h Effects of the indicated treatments on the tumor weights in the indicated PDX models (n = 8 mice per group). i Flow cytometry analysis for ALDH activity using the ALDEFLUOR kit in PDX model with indicated treatments. j Schematic diagram illustrates that SCARB2 drives hepatic carcinoma initiation by supporting cancer stem cell traits and enhancing MYC transcriptional activity. e, i n = 3 biological repeats. Statistical significance was calculated by (a, b, g, h, i) two tailed Student’s t test; (c) one-sided extreme limiting dilution analysis. Data are presented as means ± S.E.M. Source data are provided as a Source Data file.