Fig. 5

Gossypol suppresses tumor growth and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-mediated angiogenesis in breast cancer xenograft models. MCF-7 or MDA-MB-468 cells were subcutaneously implanted into nude mice and subsequently treated with gossypol. All mice underwent monitoring of tumor growth. On day 42 post inoculation, serum samples and xenograft tumor tissues were obtained for MDM2 expression, VEGF production and neovascularization analysis. a Xenograft tumor size. b Xenograft tumor weight on day 42. c Representative pictures from each group. d Expression of Mouse double minute 2 (MDM2) in tumor tissues determined by western blot. e Concentrations of VEGF in the serum samples of nude mice determined by ELISA. f Representative histology comparisons of tumor vessel content in xenografts from different treatment group, as stained by CD31 immunohistochemistry (×200). g Positive immunostaining of CD31 was digitally quantified and measured as microvessel density (MVD). Data represent mean ± SEM; n = 10 mice/group. *P < 0.05. GAPDH glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase