Figure 4. Inhibition of CBX5 lessened tumorigenicity and aggressiveness of lung TSLCs in vivo.

2×10⁵ lung CD133⁺-TSLCs treated with sh-CBX5 RNAi or sh-Luc controls were injected through tail vein of NOD-SCID mice (n = 6 per group). The animals were sacrificed and examined 8 weeks after injection. (a) Tumor volume and (b) the number of metastatic foci (arrows) in the lungs were analyzed by ex vivo GFP imaging and histological examination. (c) The effects of IR of 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 Gy were evaluated in CD133⁺-TSLCs treated with sh-Luc or sh-CBX5 RNAi. Data shown are the mean ± SD of 3 experiments. (d) Knockdown of CBX5 in lung CD133⁺-TSLCs effectively reduced the number of lung metastases in transplanted mice. Treatment of sh-CBX5 RNAi combined with 4 Gy IR further enhanced the anti-tumor efficacy (*P <0.05).