Figure 3.
Efficacy of G47Δ in an orthotopic EC model
(A) Experimental design. Female athymic mice were inoculated with TE8-luc cells (1 × 106 cells) into the esophageal wall (day −18). After confirmation of the orthotopic tumors with IVIS 3 days after the implantation (on day −15), the mice were randomly divided into two groups (n = 10 per group), and were treated with an intratumoral inoculation with G47Δ (1.0 × 106 pfu) or mock on day 0. The photon counts of the tumors were calculated with IVIS every 3–4 days. On day 34, all surviving mice were euthanized and the tumor weight was compared between the groups. (B) The average of the logarithmic photon flux was plotted on a chart. G47Δ treatment significantly decreased the total bioluminescence from tumors (p < 0.01 on day 13). Each experiment was conducted at least twice with similar results. The results presented are the mean ± SEM (n = 10). The Welch's t test was used to determine statistical significance (∗∗p < 0.01). (C) The changes of IVIS images with time of both treatment groups are shown.