An inhibitor of HIF-α subunit expression suppresses hypoxia-induced dedifferentiation of human NSCLC into cancer stem cell-like cells

Figure 9 Effect of TX-402 on the lung-colonizing capability of A549 cells cultured under hypoxic conditions. A, B: Macroscopic and histological observations of the lungs. A549 cells cultured under normoxic (N) or hypoxic (H) conditions for 5 d were injected into the tail vein of Balb/c nude mice (n = 5), the lungs were processed for macroscopic and histological (hematoxylin and eosin staining) observations, and the number of metastatic foci was counted, data are presented as the mean ± SE, ^bP < 0.01; C,D: Effect of TX-402 on the hypoxia-induced lung-colonizing ability of A549 cells. A549 cells cultured under normoxic (N) or hypoxic (H) conditions with vehicle or 20 μmol/L TX-402 for 3 d were injected into the tail vein of BALB/c nude mice (n = 5), The lungs were fixed, and the number of nodules per lung was then counted. Data are presented as the mean ± SE, ^bP < 0.01 and ^aP < 0.05; E, F: Colony-forming ability of TX-402-treated A549 cells, A549 cells (100 cells/dish) cultured under normoxic (N) or hypoxic (H) conditions in the presence of solvent (DMSO) or 20 μmol/L TX-402 for 3 d were seeded and cultured for an additional 14 d, the colonies were stained with crystal violet, data are presented as the mean ± SD (n = 6), ^bP < 0.01.