Figure 4
RNAi-silencing of MIER3 promotes the aggressive phenotype of CRC in vitro and in vivo. (A) RNAi-silencing of MIER3 in shRNA-transduced stable SW620 cells. (B,C) Silencing of endogenous MIER3 promoted cell growth as determined by colony formation assays (B) (p < 0.05) and MTT assays (C,) (p < 0.05). (D, E) Effects of decreased MIER3 on the migration and invasion of SW620 cells as determined by Matrigel invasion and scratch wound-healing assay. Each bar represents the mean ± SD of three independent experiments. (F) MIER3 knockdown SW620 cells and mock cells injected subcutaneously into nude mice. At 28 days after subcutaneous injection, SW620/shMIER3 and SW620/mock cells produced primary tumors (upper); a representative sample of the tumors that formed is shown (lower). (G) Tumor growth curve. Each data point represents the mean tumor volume ± SD (upper) and scatter plots of the weights of tumors derived from mice injected with SW620/shMIER3 and SW620/mock cells at 28 days after subcutaneous injection (upper). (H) Immunohistochemistry showed that MIER3 knockdown increased the proliferation index by Ki67 staining ( ×200). (I) Real-time PCR was used to test MIER3 expression in xenograft tumors formed from injections with SW620/shMIER3 and SW620/mock cells. Error bars represent the mean ± SD. (J,K) The whole-body images (J) and histological images (K) of metastatic nodules in the lungs. (L) Lung metastatic nodules in individual mice were counted under a microscope. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.001.
