Fig. 4.

Ectopic overexpression of SOX2 restores in vivo tumorigenicity in HNSCC cells with TAZ depletion. a Tumor incidence was monitored in indicated cells as measured by limiting dilution tumorigenic assay. 10³–10⁶ cells were inoculated in the blanks of NOD/SCID mice. b Representative images of tumor xenograft samples derived from 10⁶ cells were shown. Scale bar: 1 cm. c Tumor volume was measured every three days after tumor initiation in animals inoculated with 10⁶ cells. d, e The final tumor volume (d) and weight (e) were measured in animals inoculated with 10⁶ cells. f Expression of CSCs markers like CD44, CD133 and ALDH1A1 was determined in samples derived from Fadu cells with TAZ or/and SOX2 manipulations. Representative images were shown. g–k Representative immunohistochemical staining images of TAZ, SOX2, Ki67, ALDH1A1, CD44, and CD133 in xenograft samples and their quantification data were shown. Scale bar: 100 μm