Figure 6.

Hypoxia‐inducible factor (HIF)‐2α promotes xenograft tumor growth and metastasis in vivo. A, MCF‐7/Flag or MCF‐7/Flag‐HIF‐2α cells were inoculated orthotopically onto the mammary fat pad of 6‐wk‐old female Balb/c mice (n = 7). Tumor volumes were quantified every 2 days (left) and tumors were shown on the 30th day (right). B, Primary tumor and representative metastasis specimens were H&E stained (left). Necrosis area ratio in primary tumors and numbers of metastatic lesions in lungs were quantified (right). C‐E, Expressions of HIF‐2α and its targets were examined by quantitative PCR (C), western blotting (D) and immunohistochemistry (IHC) staining (E) from primary tumor tissue of each mouse. F, LOXL2 and MMP‐9 levels were detected by ELISA. Error bars represent means ± SD from triplicates. *P < 0.05; **P < 0.01; ***P < 0.001