FIGURE 6.

TGFβ⁺ TEX promote reprogramming of macrophages of tumors in 4‐NQO‐treated mice. (A) A schematic is provided for 4‐NQO oral administration in water for the initiation of oral carcinomas. Green arrow indicates time‐point for intravenous injection of TEX or daily intraperitoneal injections of mRER into mice. (B) Number of tumors per mouse at the experimental end‐point. (C) Aggregate volumes of tumors in mm³ per mouse at the experimental end‐point. (D) Representative immunofluorescence staining of tumor sections at week 27/28 from the various indicated treatment cohorts for CD31 and CD68 (green fluorescence), TGFβ, iNOS, and ARG1 (red fluorescence) and counterstaining of nuclei with DAPI (blue fluorescence). Scale bars = 100 μm. (E) Quantitative analysis of immunofluorescence staining for TGFβ. All data are expressed as the percentage of the area positively stained from the region of interest (% ROI). (F) Quantitative analysis of immunofluorescence staining for CD31. All data are expressed as the area positively stained from the region of interest (% ROI). (G) Histology‐based quantification of macrophages at the border zones of the tumor. The following phenotypes were quantified: CD68 positive cells, CD68/iNOS double‐positive cells, and CD68/ARG1 double‐positive cells. Values represent means ± SEM. *p < 0.05 vs. CTRL; ^# p < 0.05 vs. number of CD68⁺/ARG1⁺ cells in CTRL.