Figure 1.

Characterization of the Vasculature in the Lung Metastasis Site

(A) Proliferation of the vasculature at the metastasis site. After BrdU was systemically administered into the tail vein 2 hr before the lungs were excised from the mice that had been inoculated 1, 3, and 7 days before the experiment, the incorporated BrdU was detected by means of an anti-BrdU antibody. Green and red dots indicate vessel and BrdU, respectively. Scale bars, 50 μm. (B) Quantified data of (A) images. The total area of the yellow dots, which denote proliferating endothelial cells, was counted with the ImageJ software. Data represent the mean ± SD. Statistical analyses were performed by ANOVA, followed by the SNK test (n = 6 from 3 independent mice). Statistical analysis was carried out by ANOVA, followed by Bonferroni test. **p < 0.01 (versus NT and 1 day). (C) Comparison of the structure of the vasculature in the metastasized lung between normal lung and a lung 14 days after metastasis. The red dots denote VEcad (left), type IV collagen (center), and αSMA (right), respectively. Scale bars, 100 μm. (D) Quantified data of (C) images. Pixels were counted by the ImageJ software in 9 images from 3 independent mice. Statistical analyses were performed by the Student’s t test. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01.