Figure 4.

Ezrin Cys¹¹⁷ correlates positively with NSCLC invasion and metastasis in vivo. (A) For the orthotopic implantation assay, bioluminescent images of systemic metastases in nude mice with ezrin-WT, ezrin-C117S, and ezrin-C248S A549 cells are shown. The ex vivo organ metastases including those in the lungs, liver, brain, spleen, heart, kidney, stomach, small intestine, and colon were also presented. (B) Representative images of H&E-stained histological sections of lungs from nude mice in the orthotopic implantation assay (black arrows: metastatic nodules). (C) Box plot showing the numbers of lung nodules from the corresponding mice (mean ± SD, n = 8). (D) Representative images of H&E-stained histological sections of livers from nude mice in the orthotopic implantation assay (black arrows: metastatic nodules). (E) Box plot showing the numbers of liver metastatic nodules from the corresponding mice (mean ± SD, n = 8). Pseudocolor heat-maps indicate the intensity of bioluminescence from low (purple) to high (red) (mean ± SD, n = 8). One-way ANOVA was used for single-factor sample comparisons. ***P < 0.001 compared with ezrin-WT.