Fig. 1.

Experimental assessments of tumor growth and dissemination. a Representative tumor growth of primary MC-26 orthotopic transplant cancer tumor formation in the colorectum. The dotted lines indicate the tumor border. b Liver metastases grew significantly larger in human CD39 transgenic mouse livers, compared to heterozygous animals after intrasplenic injections. c In the colorectal orthotopic model, no differences in the three-dimensional tumor bulk were calculated amongst the groups. d In the dissemination liver metastases model, significant differences in liver weights (due to metastatic growth) were observed, comparing livers from hz and htCD39 livers (P < 0.05). e In the orthotopic colorectal cancer model, macroscopic liver metastases could not be detected within the three groups. Microscopic metastases were excluded by histological assessment (not shown). f Expression patterns of CD39, CD39L1, P2X7 and P2Y2 mRNA were determined. MC-26 colorectal cancer cells do not express CD39