Figure 3. TNC knockdown inhibits pulmonary metastasis of melanoma cells.
(A) Representative lungs showing decreased metastasis in mice injected with TNC-shRNA-expressing (sh_TNC_A or sh_TNC_C) versus control (sh_Cont) cells. 2×105 WM3734 melanoma cells were injected intravenously into NOD/SCID IL2Rγnull mice. Mice were sacrificed after 8 weeks and the lungs harvested. (B) Representative lungs stained with H&E. Scale bar = 5 mm (C) The percentage of total area occupied by lung tumor metastases was measured based on H&E stained sections. Data are means ± SE (n=8). *p< 0.05, Student’s t test. (D) WM3734 melanoma cells at a concentration of 5 × 105 cells/ mouse in 0.1mL Matrigel® were subcutaneously injected into NOD/SCID IL2Rγnull mice (n=8). Mice were monitored and the tumor size was measured twice per week.