Fig. 7: Effects of MCM7 knockdown on the metastasis capacity of HCC cells in vivo.
From: Arsenic trioxide inhibits liver cancer stem cells and metastasis by targeting SRF/MCM7 complex
a–d The nude mice received liver injections of MCM7-knockdown-HCCLM3 cells and scramble control cells, respectively. Representative images of gross observation of lungs (a, b) and lung metastasis foci in scanned panels of H&E-stained lung sections derived from both groups (c, d) were shown (Pannoramic MIDI, 3DHISTECH, Hungary). Blue dashed circles indicate typical macro-metastases foci (magnification: ×15) and arrowheads indicate typical micro-metastases foci in magnification inserts (×400). Bars, 1000 μm. e The metastasis rate of liver-inoculated mice with MCM7-knockdown HCC cells or control cells (P = 0.0348, by two-sided Chi-square test). f Quantitative analysis of the metastatic foci in detected lung sections based on the diameters (<100 μm and >100 μm) in each group. A total of 15 sections per lung (control group) and 17 sections per lung (MCM7-knockdown group) were randomly chosen and counted by two observers from each group. The loci diameters were measured by software (NIS-Elements F 4.30.01, Nikon). P = 0.0011, by two-sided Chi-square test. g, h A pie chart of the metastatic foci in detected lung sections based on the diameters in each group
