Figure 4. CD44-IR700-mediated PIT in vivo.

Representative photographs of excised tumors from nude mice bearing (a) bilateral MDA-MB-231 tumors or (b) bilateral BT-474 tumors at the end of 3-week treatment. A single i.v. injection of 100 μg of CD44-IR700 or IgG-IR700 or CD44 mAb or 2 nmol of IR700 was delivered. One tumor (left) was exposed to NIR irradiation at 30 J/cm² with a wavelength of 680 nm at 24-h p.i., and the contralateral one (right) was covered by aluminum foil. The corresponding tumor growth curves of (c) MDA-MB-231 tumors and (d) BT-474 tumors over 3 weeks p.i. Values represent mean ± SD (n = 4 or 5 per group, *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01 for the irradiated MDA-MB-231 tumors from CD44-IR700-injected mice compared to other control groups using Student’s t test).