Fig. 3

rhEpo enhances radiation-induced phenotype conversion in vivo. SUM159PT-StrawberryRed-ZsGreen-cODC cells were sorted for StrawberryRed-positive and ZsGreen-negative cells, and the sorted cells were mixed with Matrigel and implanted into the flank of female 6-week-old NSG mice at a density of 10⁶ cells per site. Injection sites were monitored weekly for tumor formation. When the tumors reached ~ 3–5 mm, the mouse was treated intraperitoneally with 500 IU/kg rhEpo or vehicle. Three hours after rhEpo treatment, the mice were anesthetized, and cone beam CT images were obtained using an image-guided small animal irradiator. a An individualized treatment plan was generated for each tumor to apply a 4 Gy dose to the tumor using a single beam. The smaller green circle represents the target, and the pale green regions represent the regions covered by the applied beam. b The mice were administered daily injections of rhEpo or vehicle for a total of 5 days. After the final treatment, the tumors were harvested and digested into single cells. The cell suspensions were analyzed by flow cytometry for the induced BCIC population (StrawberryRed-positive, ZsGreen-positive). The graph represents the normalized %ZsGreen-positive tumor cells observed in at least four animals per group ± SEM