Figure 4
NKX6.1 suppresses tumor formation and metastasis in vivo. HeLa and CaSki cells transfected with the empty vector (right) or an NKX6.1 expression plasmid (left) were subcutaneously injected into NOD-SCID mice. The tumor growth curve (a) and tumor weights (b) of the NKX6.1-expressing cells were compared with that of cells harboring the vector only. (c) Schema for representing the metastasis assay model in vivo. (d) Control or NKX6.1-expressing HeLa or CaSki cells were injected into NOD-SCID mice via the tail vein. The lower images depict lungs excised from the mice; the arrows indicate lung nodules. (e and f) Hematoxylin and eosin staining of lungs (e) and brains (f) (original magnification, × 200) excised from the mice shown in (d). Scale bar=200 μm. The values are expressed as the mean±s.e. from three or four independent experiments (analyzed by unpaired two-tailed t-test). *P<0.05, **P<0.01 and ***P<0.001.
