Cordycepin Inhibits the Growth of Hepatocellular Carcinoma by Regulating the Pathway of Aerobic Glycolysis

Figure 5

Cordycepin suppresses tumor growth in the tumor xenograft model. (a) Observation of the tumor mass morphology of transplanted tumors in nude mice in various medication groups. Cultured cells were inoculated in nude mice at 1 × 10⁷ cells/mL and randomly divided into groups after 10 days: PBS, 10 μg/mL cordycepin, 20 μg/mL cordycepin, 10 μg/mL 5 FU, and 10 μg/mL cordycepin + 10 μg/mL 5 FU. Intraperitoneal injection was administered once a day, and the combination group was given drugs at daily intervals for 30 days. The tumor volume of nude mice was measured after 3 days. The statistical data showed tumor volume between different treatment groups. (b) ¹⁸F-FDG micro-PET imaging and statistical analysis of tumors in different drug groups. Experimental data showed a glucose uptake in nude mouse tumor tissues in different groups and indirectly reflected the glucose metabolism level; the white arrow indicates the location of the xenograft tumor. (c) TUNEL staining (magnification ×200) of tumor tissues of tumor-bearing nude mice in different drug groups and statistical analysis. (d) IHC staining and statistical analysis of tumor tissues in HCC-LM3 tumor-bearing nude mice and quantification of the expression of HK2, LDHA, and PKM2 molecules. (e) Expression levels of HK2, PKM2, and LDHA proteins in tumor tissues of HCC-LM3 tumor-bearing nude mice. Data are expressed as mean ± SD. ; ; (vs. control group, n = 3).

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