Fig. 1.

In vivo effects of STIM2 gain or loss on tumor growth and metastasis. a Western blots (left) and quantification of protein expression (right) showing knockdown (SH) or overexpression (OE) of STIM1 and STIM2 in MDA-MB-231 cells. b Effect of knockdown or overexpression of STIM2 on tumor growth. MDA-MB-231 cells transfected with lentiviruses were injected subcutaneously into nude mice. The mice were euthanized and tumors harvested 48 days after cancer cell injection. Photographs of representative tumors are shown. c Effect of knockdown or overexpression of STIM2 on tumor volume. Tumor volume was monitored every 3 days from day 7 after cancer cell inoculation by measuring tumor length and width with a sliding caliper. d Western blots (left) and quantification (right) showing the expression of STIM2 and STIM1 in parental MDA-MB-231 cells and MDA-MB-231-derived tumor xenografts. e Bright-field images (left) and hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining (right) of the lungs and livers of mice injected via the tail vein with STIM2-SH, STIM2-OE, or control (NC) cells at day 42 after injection. f Comparison of the number of metastatic nodules in the lungs and livers of mice injected via the tail vein with STIM2-SH, STIM2-OE, or NC cells at day 42 after injection. T tests or one-way ANOVA were used to compare independent groups. Data are presented as means ± SD of at least 3 independent experiments. *P < 0.05