Fig. 6.

Bestatin prevents intestinal adenoma formation in Apc^Min/+ mice. (a) Representative photographs show polyp formation in Apc^Min/+ mice treated or not treated with bestatin. (b) Polyp number was measured in mice. The asterisks (***) indicate a significant (p < .001) decrease in polyp formation in mice treated with bestatin compared with the control group. The data are shown as mean values ± S.E., (n = 6). (c) LTB4 production was measured in these groups. The data are shown as mean values ± S.E. and the asterisks (*, **) indicate a significant (p < .01, p < .001, respectively) decrease in LTB4 production in bestatin-treated mice compared with the control group. (d) Immunohistochemistry analysis was used to determine the level of BLT1, Ki-67, and phosphorylation of ERK1/2 (Thr202/Tyr204) and MEK (Ser217/221) in the control group compared with the bestatin-treated group. Representative photographs for each protein and each group are shown. The integrated optical density (IOD) was evaluated using the Image-Pro Premier software (v.9.0) program. The asterisks (*, **, ***) indicate a significant (p < .05, p < .01, p < .001, respectively) decrease in protein expression compared with the control group (Scale bar, 100 μm). (e) Representative western blot analysis confirmed that bestatin inhibited expression of BLT1 and downstream signaling pathways.