FIGURE 8.

Cx43 expression significantly reduces primary tumor growth in vivo. A, 300,000 control or Cx-expressing melanomas were topically applied to the CAM of 10-day-old chicken embryos. Primary melanoma tumors visible on the CAM 7 days post-inoculation (arrows) were excised, photographed, and weighed. B, control melanomas produced large, blood-filled tumors of ∼0.09 g in weight (n = 18). Cx26-GFP-expressing melanomas exhibited a slight reduction in primary tumor weight (∼0.075 g), but this was not statistically significant (n = 11, p = ns). Conversely, melanomas expressing Cx43-GFP produced significantly smaller tumors of ∼0.02 g in weight (∼4.5-fold reduction from controls) (n = 15; ***, p < 0.001). Bars, 1 cm.