Fig. 3

Paclitaxel efficacy in xenograft TNBC tumors is enhanced by TRF2 over-expression. a CB17-SCID female immunodeficient mice were injected intramuscularly with 3x10⁶ MDA-MB-231 pBabe and pTRF2 cells. When tumors reached 250 mm³ mice were randomised and treated with Paclitaxel iv at 20 mg/Kg once a week for two weeks. Tumor volumes were measured in two dimensions using a caliper and calculated by the formula a× b²/2, where “a” and “b” are the long and short sizes of the tumor, respectively. Each experimental group included five mice. Error bars represent S.D. and p-values were calculated at day 30 using an unpaired two-tailed t-test; ***p<0.001, ****p<0.00001. b Kaplan-Meier survival curves for mice treated as in a. Statistical significance was assessed by Log-rank test (****p<0.0001). c Histological and Immunohistochemical analysis of primary tumor established from MDA-MB-231 pBabe and pTRF2 treated with Paclitaxel. Representative images of immunostained sections. Scale bar: 200 µm. d Quantification of TRF2 and LC-3B (expressed as ImmunoReactive Score, IRS) and SQSTM1/p62 expression (indicated as percentage of SQSTM1/p62 positive cells). Thirty fields for condition were analyzed. *p<0.05, **p<0.01, ***p <0.001, ****p<0.0001.