Figure 8. The combinatorial treatment of ART and TRAIL synergistically inhibits tumor growth.

Nude mice were subcutaneously inoculated with 1×10⁶ HCT116-luc cells. When the tumor volume reached approximately 200 mm³, tumor bearing mice were treated with ART (A, 200 mg/kg, twice per week, oral gavage) alone, TRAIL (T, 100 μg/kg, twice per week, intra-tumoral) alone, or the combination of ART and TRAIL (A + T). (A) Mice were imaged using the NightOWL LB983 bioluminescence imaging (BLI) system. Representative images are shown on day 19. (B) Tumor tissues were harvested on day 19 and displayed. (C) Line graph illustrating the tumor volume (mm³) in HCT116-luc tumor-bearing mice treated with PBS alone, ART alone, TRAIL alone, or the combination from day 0 to day 19. Error bars represent the mean ± SD from five mice. For statistical analysis, Student’s t-test (two-sided, paired) was used. p-values: ^*, 0.05; ^**, 0.01; ^***, 0.001. (D and E) Tumor tissues were harvested on day 19 and subjected to TUNEL assay and DAPI (4′,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole) staining. Cell nuclei were stained with DAPI. Apoptosis was detected using TUNEL assay (D) and percents of TUNEL-positive cells were plotted (E). (F) Line graph illustrating the body weight (gram) in HCT116-luc tumor-bearing mice treated with PBS alone, ART alone, TRAIL alone, or the combination from day 0 to day 19.