Figure 6. KLF8 promotes FHL2-mediated cell proliferation in CRC in vivo.

A. LoVo cells (5 × 10⁷) were injected subcutaneously in the right flanks of nude mice. One week after tumor cell injection, equal amounts of vector, KLF8 or KLF8-FHL2-shRNA cells were directly injected into the tumors at three different positions. Images shown were captured on day 35 after injection. B. Tumor size was measured weekly after tumor cell inoculation in each group. ***, p < 0.001, vector vs. KLF8 and KLF8 vs. KLF8-FHL2-shRNA, respectively. C. FHL2 knockdown significantly inhibited KLF8-induced proliferation (Ki-67, ***, p < 0.001, vector vs. KLF8 and KLF8 or KLF8-FHL2-shRNA, respectively), and a considerable decrease of tumor vessel density (CD105, ***, p < 0.001, vector vs. KLF8 and KLF8 or KLF8-FHL2-shRNA) was observed by immunohistochemistry. Scale bars represent 100 μm.