Figure 8
C4.4A deficiency may have an impact on development of malignant bladder lesions.
Female C4.4A+/+ (n = 18) and C4.4A−/− (n = 16) mice were exposed to BBN for 14 weeks followed by 12 weeks of water to induce malignant carcinomas. Serial sections of C4.4A+/+ bladders stained for C4.4A, CK14 and CK10 are shown in panels (A–L). C4.4A expression was induced in the hyperplastic suprabasal layers with induction of CK14 in the same cells but absence of CK10 (A–C). C4.4A expression overlaps with both CK14 and CK10 in squamous metaplasia (D–F) and invasive carcinomas (G–L). The number of mice/bladders with the given histological subtypes and invasive features were determined (M) and the incidence in percentage divided on genotypes was calculated as shown in brackets. The mean tumour area was determined from H&E-stained sections using the Visiomorph software (N). Standard deviations are shown. Scale bars = (A–C,J–L) (25 μm); (D–F) (50 μm); (G–I) (100 μm).
