Figure 9.
Enlarged Macrophages Accumulate in the Microenvironment of Alb-R26Met Regressing Tumors during MEK plus BCL-XL Inhibition
(A–H) H&E staining of tumor sections from Alb-R26Met mice either untreated (A, B, E, and F) or treated with MEK and BCL-XL inhibitors (C, D, G, and H). In (C and D) note extensive peritumoral macrophage hyperplasia (arrowheads) surrounding locally invasive well-differentiated HCC cells. The dotted lines depict the border between the tumor and the normal parenchyma. (E–H) High magnifications of the area indicated by the yellow squares in (A–D).
(I–L) Immunohistological staining showing anti-F4/80-positive macrophages in the peritumoral area of tumors. Note highly enlarged macrophages in the microenvironment of drug-driven regressing tumors (K and L) compared with tumors from untreated Alb-R26Met mice (I and J).
(M–P) Immunohistological staining with anti-cleaved Caspase-3 in the peritumoral area of untreated (M and N) and treated (O and P) Alb-R26Met mice.
The mice IDs are indicated on the top right corners of (A–D). Scale bars are indicated.