FIGURE 1.
Acceleration of the growth of colon cancer in mice by MSCs pre-stimulated by inflammatory cytokines. Mice were randomized into five groups, with one control group (n = 7) only receiving 1 × 106 C26 cells and the other groups receiving 1 × 106 C26 cells and 1 × 105 MSCs together. MSCs were pre-stimulated in advance by inflammatory cytokines for 12 h. A, photographic illustration of tumors excised from all experimental mice on the day of euthanasia (day 18). B, tumor weights of mice treated with MSCs, particularly the IFN-γ + TNF-α group, were significantly increased (*, p < 0.05) relative to those of the control group (**, p < 0.01). C, similar results occurred for tumor volumes.