Fig. 3. Targeting autophagy decreased leukemic development of human KIT^D816V cells when xenografted into NSG mice.

A total of 2 × 10⁶ of TF-1 KIT^D816V cells expressing inducible shRNA against ATG12 were injected into the vein tails of NSG mice and doxycycline was added on day 10. On day 20, six mice per group were killed: the human cells were studied by flow cytometry and sorted. Overall mouse survival was also monitored. a Experimental procedure. b After killing the mice, human leukemic cells were isolated with hCD45 magnetic beads and analyzed by western blotting. c, d Quantification of protein level of ATG12 and LC3-II. Numbers represent the LC3B-II/actin ratios obtained by densitometric analysis (n = 3 ± SEM). e, f Percentage of human hCD45+ cells in the bone marrow (e) and spleen (f) of mice evaluated by flow cytometry (n = 6 ± SEM). g Overall survival of mice (vehicle n = 8, doxycycline n = 9)