Fig. 6

CuE inhibits the growth of melanoma in vitro and in vivo. The inhibitory function of CuE in the proliferation of A375 cells was examined in vitro (A), and then 4.0 μM CuE was used to analyse the proliferation rate by CCK-8 assay (B). 2.0 μM CuE was used to analyse the colony formation ability by colony forming assay (C, D). A375 cells were treated with CuE (2.0 µM), and 24 h after treatment, cells were analysed by FACS for cell apoptosis (E). Immunoblotting analysis of Bcl2, BaX and cleaved caspase-3 in A375 cells treated with CuE (F). A375 cells were subcutaneously injected into nude mice. When the tumour size reached approximately 0.5 cm in diameter, the tumour-bearing mice were intraperitoneally injected with CuE (5 mg/kg). For 3 weeks, the mice were sacrificed and dissected at the endpoint. Tumour growth and weight were examined (n = 6/group, G–I). The experiments were repeated three times. All data represent the mean ± SEM; **P < 0.01 and ***P < 0.001 compared with the control group