Fig. 8
Significant curative effect on the MDR breast cancer tumor in vivo. a Images of MCF7/MDR subcutaneous xenograft tumors at the treatment endpoint. b Tumor inhibition ratio. Compared to the tumor inhibition ratio (49.7%) in the unbound NVT and VRP groups, the tumor inhibition ratios were obviously improved in the NV@CaP-RGD group (90.1%, P < 0.001) and NV@CaP group (83.3%, P < 0.001). In addition, compared to the NV@CaP group, NV@CaP-RGD achieved a better therapeutic effect on breast MDR tumors through the tumor-targeting peptide RGD (P < 0.05). *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001, compared with unbound drugs group. c Tumor growth curves during the treatment period. The tumor volume of the NV@CaP-RGD treatment group was 22.71 ± 14.96 mm3 at the endpoint, which was the smallest one among all groups. d H&E images (×100) of the MDR breast cancer tumors. NV@CaP-RGD can promote tumor necrosis to enhance its therapeutic effects on MDR breast cancer. e TUNEL analysis (×200) of tumor tissues after treatment with various drug formulations. There was obvious apoptosis of MDR breast cancer cells in NV@CaP-RGD group, consistent with the previous results