Fig. 7

MenSCs enhance the sensitivity of sorafenib to sorafenib-resistant xenograft tumours in vivo. A Scheme of the animal experiment (see the Methods section for details). B Images of tumours derived from nude mice-bearing xenografts of HCCLM3-SR and Huh7-SR cells (n = 6). C Line charts depicted tumour growth curves. Tumour volume was measured every 5 d after mice were subcutaneously injected with HCC-SR cells. D The weights of tumours were measured after they were excised. According to C and D, combination therapy caused a further decrease in volume and weight of Huh7-SR xenograft tumours compared to sorafenib alone, which reflected that combination therapy was more effective than sorafenib alone against Huh7-SR xenograft tumours. E Immunohistochemical staining of TET2, BNIP3, BNIP3L, Cox IV, and Ki67 in tumours. Scale bar: 100 µm. F Relative average optical density of TET2, BNIP3, BNIP3L, COX IV, and relative Ki67-positive cells were measured. MenSC treatment increased the levels of TET2, BNIP3, and BNIP3L in the Huh7-SR xenograft tumours. The mitochondrial mass was determined by CoxIV staining and used to evaluate mitophagy activity. Combination therapy reduced the CoxIV levels in the Huh7-SR xenograft tumours, suggesting that mitophagy was enhanced after the administration of the combination therapy. Ki67 staining was performed to detect the inhibition of cell proliferation. The relative Ki67-positive cells were decreased in Huh7-SR xenograft tumours after the administration of combination therapy, reflecting that the combination therapy exerted a better inhibitory effect on Huh7-SR tumour growth than sorafenib alone (Fig. 6E, F). *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001, ****p < 0.0001. ns represents not statistically significant