Rap1A knockdown attenuates tumor metastasis in vivo. (A) Images of ECA109 tumors using cells that stably expressed sh-NC or shRap1A. (B) Quantitative analysis of the tumor volume with the time lapse from day 7 onwards; error bars represent mean + 95% confidence intervals, n=6 mice/group. (C) An illustrative diagram of lungs extracted 6 weeks after ECA109-sh-NC or shRap1A were injected into the tail veins of nude mice. (D) Quantitative analysis of the metastatic nodules in the lungs; error bars represent the mean ± standard error of the mean; ***P<0.001. (E and F) Representative lung sections from each group and corresponding H&E staining [(E) magnification, ×5 and ×50] and IHC staining [(F) magnification, ×50 and ×200] for Rap1A. Rap1A, Ras-associated protein 1A; H&E, hematoxylin and eosin; IHC, immunohistochemistry.