Figure 3. Anti-tumor effects of 4.1N were evaluated in the nude mice.

(A) Western blotting analysis confirmed that 4.1N was absent from 95C cells stably expressing human-4.1N shRNA. (B, C and D) Effects of 4.1N knockdown on tumor growth in the subcutaneous xenograft model. (B) Images of stripped tumors from mice (n = 5 mice for each group). (C) Tumor growth curves showed that 4.1N knockdown promoted the growth of xenografts in nude mice. The values at each time point are shown as mean tumor size (mm³) ± SEM (standard error of the mean). (D) The weight of xenograft tumors at the time of sacrifice. Values are shown as mean tumor weight (g) ± SEM. **p < 0.01 versus control. (E and F) Effects of 4.1N knockdown on tumor metastasis in the tail vein metastasis assay. (E) Gross examination of representative tumor-bearing lungs from the 4.1N knockdown and control groups (left). Representative H&E staining of lung sections (right). Magnification: × 5 and × 10. (F) Number of lung metastatic nodules based on observation of lung histological sections. Data are means±SD (n = 3 mice for each group). **p < 0.01.