Figure 10.

Furin overexpression in HepG2 cells enhances tumor (T) invasion in SCID mice. HepG2-furin or HepG2-Neo SCID mice (n = 6 per group) were established. All analyses were performed 7 wk after inoculation of tumor cells. H&E staining of metastasized HepG2-furin or HepG2-Neo cells in liver (A–I) or lung sections (J–R) are displayed. Panels D–F and M–O are the higher magnification (×200) of liver or lung sections coming from the corresponding white squares shown in panels A–C or J–L. The tumor region is circled by the dotted line (B, C, E, F, H, and I) or indicated by the arrowhead (K, L, N, Q, and R). The normal (N) morphology of liver or lung sections is shown in panels A and D (liver) and panels J and M (lung). Panels G–I and P–R show furin expression detected by immunohistochemistry. The tumor size from the HepG2-Neo cell is smaller than that from the HepG2-furin cell in liver (B vs. C) or lung (K vs. L). Average of the metastasis index (S) (fold, density of tumor numbers in HepG2-furin/HepG2-Neo per cm² area) or relative tumor size (T) (fold increase) in liver or lung (average of tumor size in HepG2-furin/HepG2-Neo per cm² area) is shown. Scale bar in panels is 200 μm. Tumor is indicated by arrowheads. Student’s t test. **, P < 0.01. The statistical significance is being compared with each HepG2-Neo cell. The control group was inoculated with PBS only without tumor cells.