Figure 6

Effects of ethanol on tumor development in a xenograft model. (A) HepG2 cells were implanted subcutaneously in nude mice. The mice were exposed to ethanol in drinking water (0 or 2% ethanol). Mice were injected with PDTC (0 or 100 mg/kg). The size of tumor was measured every other day. (B) At the end of experiments, tumors were removed for subsequent analyses. A representative image shows tumors from control and ethanol-exposed mice with/without PDTC treatment. (C) Tumor weight was determined and presented as the means ± SD (n = 12). (D) Tumor metastases in the lungs were analyzed. A representative microphotograph shows metastatic carcinoma nodes in the lungs of ethanol-exposed mice (arrow, top panel; Bar: 100 μm). The percentage of mice which were positive for lung metastasis was quantified (bottom panel). (E) Microvessels in tumor tissues were detected by CD31 immunohistochemistry (Bar: 50 μm). a: water control, b: water plus PDTC, c: 2% ethanol, d: 2% ethanol plus PDTC. (F) AVMD was determined as described in Figure 2. (G) VEGF and MCP-1 in tumor tissues were detected by IHC (Bar: 100 μm). *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, n = 3.