In vivo antitumor activity of IL-23. (A) Volume of tumors grown in PBS and hrIL-23–treated SCID/NOD mice 14 days after 697 cell intravenous inoculation. The differences in size between tumors removed from PBS- and hrIL-23–treated mice were evaluated by the Mann-Whitney U test. Boxes indicate values between the 25th and 75th percentiles, and whisker lines represent highest and lowest values for each group. Horizontal lines represent median values. (B) Morphologic and immunohistochemical analyses of tumors developed in PBS- and hrIL-23–treated mice after 697 cell intravenous inoculation. Arrows in top 2 images indicate apoptotic figures, as revealed by the aspect of chromatin condensation, cell shrinkage, and scattered apoptotic bodies. Anti-PCNA (images in second row), anti-CD31 (images in third row), and anti-cyclinD1 (images in fourth row) immunostaining results are shown. H&E and PCNA staining: magnification ×600 field (60× objective and 10× ocular lens; 0.120 mm2 per field), CD31, and cyclin D1 staining: magnification ×400 field (40× objective and 10× ocular lens; 0.180 mm2 per field. (C) miRNA gene expression profile in tumors explanted from hrIL-23– vs PBS-treated animals 14 days after 697 tumor cell inoculation. Histograms represent fold differences of individual miR expression between tumors formed in hrIL-23– vs PBS-treated animals.
