Figure 8.

Emodin synergistically increased the anti-cancer efficacy of sorafenib in vivo. (A) HepG2 and (B) SK-HEP-1 cells were injected into the flanks of nude mice, and the mice were then divided into four groups. When the tumor volumes reached 250 mm³, the mice were treated with DMSO, emodin (10 mg/kg/day), sorafenib (5 mg/kg/day), or the combination (10 mg/kg/day emodin and 5 mg/kg/day sorafenib) for three weeks; with the tumor volumes measured daily. Tumor growth curves are plotted as the mean ± SEM (n = 7); * p < 0.05 and ** p < 0.01. (C) The combination of emodin and sorafenib decreased the phosphorylation of STAT3 and increased cleaved-caspase-3. The protein expression in xenografted tumor tissues was measured by immunohistochemistry using the indicated antibodies.