Journal: bioRxiv
Article Title: A tumor metabolism-angiogenesis-immune axis governs immunotherapy responses
doi: 10.64898/2026.02.23.707524
Figure Lengend Snippet: ( A ) Representative coronal and transaxial fused PET/CT rendering (PET in colormap, CT in greyscale) and tumor biodistribution of in vivo glucose uptake using [ 18 F]FDG in mice (n=4) bearing 4T1-KD and 4T1-Sc tumors in contralateral m.f.p. at day 11-14 of tumor growth to equalize tumor volumes. ( B ) Quantification and representative images of pixel intensity for glucose detected by MALDI imaging metabolomics in 4T1-KD and 4T1-Sc tumor tissue. ( C ) Metabolic analysis of EC isolated from Sc and KD tumors by Seahorse, showing extracellular acidification rates (ECAR) and oxygen consumption rates (OCR), and ( D ) Seahorse analysis of Sc- and KD-derived ECs treated with or without murine recombinant (mr)VEGF-A (10 ng/ml). Significance is represented with (*) for control Sc-ECs vs. control KD-ECs, and with (#) for control KD-ECs vs KD-ECs+mrVEGF-A ((n=8/group; Data are mean +/- SD from one representative out of 2-3 independent experiments). ( E-H ) IF quantification of % CD31 ECs (E), fractions of CD31 + vessels covered by PCs (F), vasculature complexity by mean CD31 + cell numbers in CD31 + vessel structures (G), % HIF-1a + cells (H) in 4T1-Sc and KD tumors (n=3-5). ( I, J ) Vessel leakiness by Evans blue assay in 4T1-Sc and 4T1-KD tumors on day 10 and 13 of growth respectively (I), and (J) in vivo HIF-1 reporter activity in day 7 vs. day 10 4T1-Sc and 4T1-KD tumors injected 3 days apart in contralateral m.f.p. of WT mice (n=17, 3 experiments combined). ( K ) Representative DCE MR images (showing contralateral 4T1-Sc and 4T1-KD tumors; enlarged dLNs; filled bladder, B; and rectum, R, with inserted rectal temperature probe) (left), and representative average normalized signal-time curves of contrast agent uptake (wash-in and wash-out) behavior of well-vascularized (Pattern 1, typically well-oxygenated), vascularized (Pattern 2, hypoxic) and non-vascularized (Pattern 3, includes necrotic) tumor areas (middle), and (right) related quantification of volume fractions of the indicated tumor perfusion patterns in 4T1-Sc and 4T1-KD tumor tissue (n=12, 2 separate cohorts combined; dotted white line indicates patterns that are significantly decreased in 4T1-KD vs. 4T1-Sc tumors). ( L,M ) Experiment schema with tumor volume (L), and (M) flow cytometry quantification of tumor infiltrating T cells upon adoptive transfer of tumor-specific T cells into RAG2 KO mice bearing contralateral orthotopic 4T1-Sc and 4T1-KD tumors. ( N ) Flow cytometry quantification of proportions of tumor converted T cells (Kaede red + ) recovered in dLN relative to the same converted T-cell subsets in tumors (TM) of Kaede mice implanted with B16-Sc or B16-KD (n=4/each). Data are mean +/- SE from one representative out of 2-3 independent experiments. 2-sided unpaired (A-H, N) or paired (I-M) t test. *, P<0.05; **,P<0.01; ***, P<0.001; ****P<0.0001.
Article Snippet: Primary antibodies against HIF-1α (0.5 μg/ml, Novus Bio, cat#NB100-479), NG2 (5 μg/ml, Millipore, cat#AB5320), and CD31 (0.08 μg/ml, Abcam, cat#ab182981) were incubated for 1 hour, followed by 8 minutes incubation with Leica Bond Polymer anti-rabbit HRP (included in the Polymer Refine Detection Kit (Leica, cat#DS9800).
Techniques: Positron Emission Tomography-Computed Tomography, In Vivo, Imaging, Isolation, Derivative Assay, Recombinant, Control, Evans Blue Assay, Activity Assay, Injection, Flow Cytometry, Adoptive Transfer Assay