Journal: Frontiers in Immunology

Article Title: STAT6 inhibition of M2 macrophages suppresses tumor growth by modulating the tumor microenvironment in colon cancer model

doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2026.1733991

Figure Lengend Snippet: TAMpep-IP suppresses tumor growth in the colon cancer model. (A) BALB/c mice were subcutaneously inoculated with CT26 colon carcinoma cells (3 × 10 5 cells per mouse). Starting on day 7 post-inoculation, TAMpep-IP (400 nmol/kg) was administered subcutaneously every three days for a total of seven doses. (B) Representative images of tumors excised at the experimental endpoint (day 25) showed visibly reduced tumor size in the TAMpep-IP–treated group compared to control. (C) Tumor volumes were measured every 3 days following tumor implantation. Mice treated with TAMpep-IP exhibited significantly reduced tumor growth relative to the control group (control: n = 6; TAMpep-IP: n = 6). (D) Tumor proliferation was evaluated by immunohistochemical staining of Ki-67 in tumor sections. Quantitative analysis showed a significantly lower proportion of Ki-67 + proliferating cells in TAMpep-IP–treated tumors. Representative immunohistochemistry images were acquired at ×100 magnification. Scale bar = 1000 μm. All data are presented as mean ± SEM. *p<0.05, ***p<0.001.

Article Snippet: The murine colon carcinoma cell line CT26 (KCLB 80009; Korean Cell Line Bank, Seoul, Korea) was cultured in Dulbecco’s modified Eagle’s medium (DMEM) (D5671; Welgene, Gyeongsangbuk, Korea) supplemented with 10% heat-inactivated FBS, 100 U/mL penicillin, and 1% penicillin–streptomycin.

Techniques: Control, Tumor Implantation, Immunohistochemical staining, Staining, Immunohistochemistry

Journal: Frontiers in Immunology

Article Title: STAT6 inhibition of M2 macrophages suppresses tumor growth by modulating the tumor microenvironment in colon cancer model

doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2026.1733991

Figure Lengend Snippet: TAMpep-IP reduces M2 macrophages in tumor tissues of colon cancer model. (A) Tumor-infiltrating immune cells were isolated from CT26 tumors in control and TAMpep-IP–treated mice. Flow cytometry was used to identify CD206 + F4/80 + macrophages within the CD45 + CD11b + population. TAMpep-IP significantly decreased the proportion of M2-like tumor-associated macrophages. (B) Quantitative RT-PCR analysis of tumor tissues revealed that TGF-β mRNA expression, a key M2-associated cytokine, was significantly reduced in TAMpep-IP–treated tumors compared to controls. (C) Western blot analysis of tumor showed a marked decrease in CD206 protein levels following TAMpep-IP, indicating effective suppression of M2 macrophage markers. (D) CD206 + macrophages were further visualized by immunohistochemical staining of tumor sections. ImageJ-based quantification confirmed a significant reduction in CD206 + area in TAMpep-IP–treated tumors. Representative immunohistochemistry images were acquired at ×100 magnification. Scale bar = 1000 μm. All data are presented as mean ± SEM. *p<0.05, **p<0.01, ***p<0.001.

Article Snippet: The murine colon carcinoma cell line CT26 (KCLB 80009; Korean Cell Line Bank, Seoul, Korea) was cultured in Dulbecco’s modified Eagle’s medium (DMEM) (D5671; Welgene, Gyeongsangbuk, Korea) supplemented with 10% heat-inactivated FBS, 100 U/mL penicillin, and 1% penicillin–streptomycin.

Techniques: Isolation, Control, Flow Cytometry, Quantitative RT-PCR, Expressing, Western Blot, Immunohistochemical staining, Staining, Immunohistochemistry

Journal: Frontiers in Immunology

Article Title: STAT6 inhibition of M2 macrophages suppresses tumor growth by modulating the tumor microenvironment in colon cancer model

doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2026.1733991

Figure Lengend Snippet: TAMpep-IP enhances inflammatory cytokine expression and activated CD8 + T cells in tumor tissues of colon cancer model. (A) Flow cytometry was used to evaluate CD8 + T cell function in CT26 tumor tissues from control and TAMpep-IP-treated mice. TAMpep-IP significantly increased the proportion of activated Granzyme B + CD8 + T cells, while reducing the frequency of exhausted Tim-3 + CD8 + T cells, indicating enhanced cytotoxic T cell activity. (B, C) Confocal immunofluorescence analysis was performed on tumor sections stained with DAPI (nuclei), anti-CD8 (green), anti-Granzyme B (red), and anti-PD-1 (red). Activated CD8 + T cells were identified by co-localization of CD8 and Granzyme B, whereas exhausted CD8 + T cells were identified by co-localization of CD8 and PD-1. Quantification revealed a significant increase in intertumoral CD8 + Granzyme B + T cells and a concomitant decrease in CD8 + PD-1 + exhausted T cells following TAMpep-IP. Representative confocal images were acquired using a 40× objective lens. Scale bar = 20 μm. (D) Quantitative RT-PCR analysis of CT26 tumor tissues showed significantly elevated mRNA levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-12 in TAMpep-IP–treated mice compared to controls, indicating induction of a pro-inflammatory tumor microenvironment. All data are presented as mean ± SEM. *p<0.05, **p<0.01, ***p<0.001, ****p < 0.0001.

Article Snippet: The murine colon carcinoma cell line CT26 (KCLB 80009; Korean Cell Line Bank, Seoul, Korea) was cultured in Dulbecco’s modified Eagle’s medium (DMEM) (D5671; Welgene, Gyeongsangbuk, Korea) supplemented with 10% heat-inactivated FBS, 100 U/mL penicillin, and 1% penicillin–streptomycin.

Techniques: Expressing, Flow Cytometry, Cell Function Assay, Control, Activity Assay, Immunofluorescence, Staining, Quantitative RT-PCR

Journal: Neoplasia (New York, N.Y.)

Article Title: Assessing axitinib-induced differential responses in tumor vascularization and oxygenation with combined optoacoustic angiography and diffuse optical spectroscopy

doi: 10.1016/j.neo.2026.101303

Figure Lengend Snippet: Axitinib inhibits Colo320 growth. ( a ) The experimental timeline: time points of axitinib administration are indicated by black triangles, time points of OA and DOS investigation - by white triangles, time point of morphological study – by red triangle. ( b ) Dynamics of the Colo320 tumor volumes during treatment with axitinib. Individual values, 25-75 percentiles, medians, minimum and maximum of the data set (n = 6). *, p < 0.05; **, p < 0.01 for treated versus control group (Wilcoxon test). # , p < 0.05 for current values versus initial level (Mann-Whitney test).

Article Snippet: All the experiments were conducted on subcutaneously implanted xenograft model based on the Colo320 colon adenocarcinoma cell line (Colo320DM, ATCC No CCL-220).

Techniques: Control, MANN-WHITNEY

Journal: Neoplasia (New York, N.Y.)

Article Title: Assessing axitinib-induced differential responses in tumor vascularization and oxygenation with combined optoacoustic angiography and diffuse optical spectroscopy

doi: 10.1016/j.neo.2026.101303

Figure Lengend Snippet: Axitinib-induced reduction of tumor vascularity. ( a ) Examples of OA images of Colo320 vasculature before and after treatment with axitinib. Bar is 3 mm. Dashed lines contour the tumor zones. ( b ) Volumetric vessel fraction of the Colo320 tumors during treatment with axitinib. ( c ) The corresponding projected vessel area. Individual values and M ± SD (n = 6). *, p < 0.05; **, p < 0.01 for treated versus control group (unpaired t-test). # , p < 0.05; # # , p < 0.01 for current values versus initial level (paired t-test).

Article Snippet: All the experiments were conducted on subcutaneously implanted xenograft model based on the Colo320 colon adenocarcinoma cell line (Colo320DM, ATCC No CCL-220).

Techniques: Control

Journal: Neoplasia (New York, N.Y.)

Article Title: Assessing axitinib-induced differential responses in tumor vascularization and oxygenation with combined optoacoustic angiography and diffuse optical spectroscopy

doi: 10.1016/j.neo.2026.101303

Figure Lengend Snippet: Axitinib-induced decreases of CD31 positive blood vessels. ( a ) Examples of microimages from the tumor sections (scale bar 100 µm). ( b ) The numbers of CD31+ microvessels in the untreated and axitinib-treated Colo320 tumors after immunohistochemical staining for CD31. Individual values and M ± SD. ***, p < 0.001 for treated versus control group (unpaired t-test). ( c ), The values of CD31+ microvessels versus vascular fraction in the treated and untreated tumors.

Article Snippet: All the experiments were conducted on subcutaneously implanted xenograft model based on the Colo320 colon adenocarcinoma cell line (Colo320DM, ATCC No CCL-220).

Techniques: Immunohistochemical staining, Staining, Control

Journal: Neoplasia (New York, N.Y.)

Article Title: Assessing axitinib-induced differential responses in tumor vascularization and oxygenation with combined optoacoustic angiography and diffuse optical spectroscopy

doi: 10.1016/j.neo.2026.101303

Figure Lengend Snippet: Axitinib-induced increase of pimonidazole-positive areas. ( a ) Examples of LSM images taken from the tumor sections. Bar 2 mm. ( b ) Relative hypoxic fraction (RHF) of the untreated and axitinib-treated Colo320 tumors after immunofluorescent staining for hypoxia with pimonidazole. Individual values and M ± SEM. *, p < 0.05 for treated versus control group (unpaired t-test). ( c ) The RHF values versus StO 2 .

Article Snippet: All the experiments were conducted on subcutaneously implanted xenograft model based on the Colo320 colon adenocarcinoma cell line (Colo320DM, ATCC No CCL-220).

Techniques: Staining, Control