Fig. 5. More circulated tumor cells and more tumor formation are detected after serial adoptive transplantation of Sox12+ HCC cells.

(A) In order to check the difference in cell invasion and metastasis, circulated tumor cells were examined 2 weeks after tumor cell implantation, by flow cytometry, based on GFP (regardless of presence of RFP). A total of 100 μl of mouse blood was taken for detection of GFP+ cells by flow cytometry. The frequency was shown. (B, C) The tumor formation was evaluated by bioluminescence 8 weeks after tumor implantation, in a 3-round serial adoptive transplantation. Fifty cancer cells were isolated from implanted tumor and grafted to the new mice with the same protocol for the next round. Formation of tumor was monitored according to the overall luciferase activity of in vivo formed tumor. Frequency of developing tumor by SNU-182 cells (B) and by HepG2 cells (C), after serial adoptive transplantation. *p < 0.05. N = 20.