Fig. 7: Hpa2-KO macrophages promote tumor growth.

A Co-implantation. Tumor growth. SiHa cervical carcinoma cells (5 × 10⁶) were mixed with an equal number of WT or Hpa2-KO macrophages and the cell suspension was inoculated subcutaneously in NOD/SCID mice (n = 5–6). At termination, tumors were excised, weighed (upper panel) and photographed (lower panel). Note that Hpa2-KO macrophages facilitate tumor growth. B Immunostaining. 5-micron sections of the indicted tumor xenograft were subjected to immunostaining applying antibodies directed against CD206 (upper panels), NK1.1 (a marker of NK cells; second panels), and CD31 (a marker of vascular endothelial cells; lower panels). Note increased tumor vascularity and intravasation of tumor cells to the vasculature of tumors produced by SiHa+Hpa2-KO macrophages. Original magnifications: ×100 (upper, second and lower panels; scale bars represent 50 microns); ×25 (third panel; scale bars represent 200 microns). C Accumulation of macrophages adjacent to tumor lesions. 5-micron sections of the indicted tumor xenograft were subjected to Hematoxylin & Eosin staining (H&E) shown at low (×10; upper panels; scale bars represent 500 microns) and high (×100; second panels; scale bars represent 50 microns) magnifications. Note the accumulation of foam-like cells (macrophages) adjacent to the tumor (T) lesion. Sections were also subjected to immunostaining applying antibodies directed against galectin-3 (third panels), CD36 (fourth panels), F4/80 (fifth panels) and CD206 (lower panels). Original magnification: third and fourth panels: ×100 (scale bars represent 50 microns), lower panels: ×10 (scale bars represent 500 microns).