Fig. 7.

CD36 mediates PA-induced peritoneal dissemination in nude mice. a, b and c (upper) histograms of peritoneal tumor nodules four weeks after implantation of tumor cells (MGC803, MGC803/vector, MGC803/CD36, MGC803/nc-shRNA, MGC803/CD36-shRNA) into the peritoneum of nude mice. (middle) Histological appearance of disseminated tumors in the abdominal cavities of each group by H&E staining and IHC of p-AKT, p-GSK-3β, and β-catenin. (mag. × 400). (lower) Histograms show the IHC scores of p-AKT, p-GSK-3β and β-catenin in tumor tissues of each group. d, e and f Concentration of free long-chain FAs in the serum of mice. g CD36 mediates cellular uptake of PA which activates AKT through phosphorylation and then inactivates GSK-3β, which inhibits degradation of β-catenin and promotes its nuclear-transportation. Data are shown as mean ± SD. *P<0.05, **P<0.01, ***P<0.001