Fig. 5

Evaluation of efficiency of sorafenib to inhibit HCC growth and metastatic spread of HCC. A Representative photograph of in ovo CAM assay with the xenografted human HCC (yellow dashed line) formed on CAM 7th day after induction. B H&E staining of HCC excised from in ovo CAM assay at the beginning of the experiment. Scale bars 400 μm. C MALDI MSI of untreated primary HCC tissue cryosections excised from CAM at the experimental end-point validating up-regulation of hMT3 in Huh7^hMT3 and increased expression of hMT3 in BCLC-3^WT cells. Bar graph shows peak intensity plots of hMT3 expression in HCC tissues. Data are expressed as mean ± SEM. ***p ≤ 0.001 (Kruskal-Wallis test). D Representative photographs and weights of Huh7^WT and BCLC-3^WT tumors (n = 6) either non-treated or treated with sorafenib. E Metastatic spread of Huh7^WT and BCLC-3^WT cells to lung of sorafenib-treated and untreated embryos (n = 4). F Representative photographs and weights of Huh7^mock and Huh7^hMT3 HCC tumors (n ≥ 5) either non-treated or treated with sorafenib. H Metastatic spread of Huh7^mock and Huh7^hMT3 cells to lung of sorafenib-treated and untreated embryos (n = 4). Data shows mean ± SEM. *p ≤ 0.05, **p ≤ 0.005, ***p ≤ 0.001 (Student’s test, two-sided)