A, Volume of mouse flank tumors formed following subcutaneous injection of SW480-mock (n=5) or SW480-α9 (n=5) cells. B, Top panel: representative photomicrographs of tumor sections stained for the endothelial cell marker CD31 or the lymphatic marker, D2-40; Bottom panel: quantitative analysis of intra-tumoral blood vessels counted in 1 view field (10X) (n=3 per cell type). C, Immunoblots showing relative expression of α9, CD31, EMT-associated cadherin proteins and vimentin in 3 separate tumors derived from SW480-mock or α9 cells. D, Left panel: representative images of lymph nodes from mice injected with SW480-mock or α9 cells; Right top panels: photomicrographs showing lung metastases grossly (arrow) or H&E stained; Bottom right panels: H&E stained liver sections demonstrating metastases at low (40x) and high power (400X).