Figure 4

The anti-tumor effect of shikonin on primary and metastatic osteosarcoma by inducing necroptosis in vivo. (A) Macroscopic appearance of tibial primary osteosarcoma tumors in Balb/c mice after treatment with shikonin or 5% DMSO. The tumor size in shikonin group was smaller than that in control group. The HE stain of primary tumors showed that the degree of tumor necrosis in shikonin group was higher than that in control group. (B) Macroscopic appearance of lung got from tibial primary models. The lung metastaseis in shikonin group were less than that in control group. The HE stain of lung matastasis also showed that the degree of lung matastatic tumur necrosis in shikonin group was higher than that in control group. (C) The posterior limbs with primary tumor in shikonin group were lighter than that in control group (p < 0.01) while the lung in shikonin group was lighter than that in control group (p < 0.001). (D) The expressional level of RIP1 and RIP3 increased in shikonin group in primary tumor tissues compared with that in control group detected by Western blot. Data in D are representative of 3 independent experiments.