Figure 6 | Scientific Reports

Figure 6

From: Cell-surface major vault protein promotes cancer progression through harboring mesenchymal and intermediate circulating tumor cells in hepatocellular carcinomas

Figure 6

csMVP-positive CTCs are increased in patients with metastatic cancers and show mesenchymal phenotype and intermediate phenotype with neither epithelial nor mesenchymal markers. (a) csMVP-positive CTCs are detected in HCC patients, but not healthy donors and hepatitis patients, and is further increased in patients with metastatic cancers. The number of csMVP-positive CTCs were enumerated in patients with non-neoplastic tumor (healthy volunteers and hepatitis patients), HCC, or metastatic cancers (recurrent HCC and metastatic cancer). Horizontal bar in the graph represents the median value of the csMVP-positive CTCs. (b) csMVP-positive CTCs show EMT phenotype with ZEB1 expression. CD45-depleted CTCs were incubated with α-MVP (green), anti-vimentin (yellow), and anti-ZEB1 (red) antibodies. Nuclei were stained with DAPI (blue). The scale bar is 20 μm. (c) CD45-depleted CTCs were incubated with anti-vimentin (red), α-MVP (green), and anti-EpCAM (yellow) antibodies. Nuclei were stained with DAPI (blue). The scale bar is 20 μm. (d) Proposed model for the role of csMVP in cancer metastasis and recurrence.

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