Figure 1.

PCSK9 is upregulated in intestinal tumors. An Apc^min/+ mouse small intestine section stained with hematoxylin and eosin shows the structure of an intestinal tumor (T) and its adjacent normal tissue (N). Expression of PCSK9, LDLR, and HMG-CoA reductase was assessed by qPCR in 18 couples of tumors and their adjacent normal tissues collected from three Apc^min/+ mice of 4 months of age. mRNA levels in tumors were normalized to that of their respective adjacent stromal tissues, which was set to 1. Error bars represent SEM. *P < .05; **P < .01 (Student's t test).