Fig. 6.

The E3 aptamer targets prostate cancer xenografts in vivo, and MMAF-E3 treatment inhibits tumor growth. s.c. 22Rv1 prostate tumors were established in the right flank of nu/nu mice. (A) Tumor-bearing mice were injected via tail vein with 2 nmol of either AF750-E3 or AF750-C36 (n = 4) and imaged for NIR fluorescence. Shown are representative images from 24 h post aptamer injection. (B and C) Once tumors reached at least 50 mm³, mice were treated via tail vein with PBS or with MMAF-E3 or MMAF-C36 (1.03 mg/kg). Mice were treated q 4 d × 6, starting on day 11, as indicated by the arrows. (B) Tumor growth curves demonstrate that MMAF-E3, but not control MMAF-C36, significantly inhibits tumor growth compared with control PBS (*P = 0.0324). (C) Kaplan–Meier survival curves show a significant increase in survival for mice treated with MMAF-E3 compared with both buffer-treated and MMAF-C36–treated mice (*P = 0.0163 and *P = 0.0192, respectively). Treatment with control MMAF-C36 does not significantly change survival compared with PBS treatment.