Translational pancreatic cancer research: A comparative study on patient-derived xenograft models

Figure 1 Masson’s trichrome staining of a F2 subcutaneous model (magnification × 500). Black arrow shows the decreased fibrosis between the tumour glands.

Figure 2 Time until tumour engraftment for successive re-implants.

Figure 3 Haematoxylin-eosin staining through successive generations and PDX models. Tumour differentiation was maintained with successive re-implants and in the three PDX models (magnification × 500). H1: Sample from Human 1; H2: Sample from Human 2.

Figure 4 Masson’s trichrome staining through successive generations and PDX models. The human samples showed higher fibrosis than the mice samples. Tumour stromal tissue was maintained in the three PDX models (magnification × 500). H1: Sample from Human 1; H2: Sample from Human 2.

Figure 5 Immunohistochemical staining of Ki67 through successive generations and PDX models. Green fluorescence identifies Ki67-positive cells related to proliferation. Blue fluorescence identifies cell nuclei. The Ki67 expression was maintained with successive re-implants and in the three PDX models (magnification × 500). H1: Sample from Human 1; H2: Sample from Human 2.

Figure 6 Immunohistochemical staining of alpha-SMA through successive generations. Green fluorescence identifies alpha-SMA -positive cells related to fibrogenesis. Blue fluorescence identifies cell nuclei. The alpha-SMA expression was visibly reduced with successive re-implants in all three models, which was more remarkable in the pancreatic model (magnification × 500).

Figure 7 Immunohistochemical staining of CD31 through successive generations. Green fluorescence identifies CD31-positive cells related to angiogenesis. Blue fluorescence identifies cell nuclei. The CD31 expression was visibly reduced with successive re-implants (magnification × 500). H1: Sample from Human 1; H2: Sample from Human 2.

Figure 8 Immunohistochemical staining of TUNEL through successive generations. Green fluorescence identifies TUNEL-positive cells related to apoptosis. Blue fluorescence identifies cell nuclei. TUNEL expression was reduced with subsequent re-implants for all three experimental models, which was more remarkable in the intraperitoneal and pancreatic model (magnification × 500).