Figure 3.

CASC9 inhibition suppresses the tumorigenicity and metastasis of pancreatic cancer in vivo. LV-Si-CASC9- and LV-Si-NC-transfected SW1990 cells were implanted in the right flank of nude mice subcutaneously. After approximately 24 days, the mice were euthanized, and the tumor was completely removed. A. Representative photographs of mice and tumors are shown. B. The volume of the tumor was measured every 4 days, and the growth curve was delineated accordingly. C. The tumor weight was measured in each group. Then, the tumor tissue sections of xenografts in different groups were used for further analysis. D-F. The expression of the apoptotic marker TUNEL was stained using an immunofluorescence assay; the staining of Ki-67, HK2, GLUT4, LDHA, Snail, Vimentin, N-Cadherin, and E-Cadherin was analyzed by immunohistochemistry (scale bar, 50 μm). After being transfected with LV-Si-CASC9 or LV-Si-NC, SW1990 cells were injected into the lateral tail vein of mice. G. Representative photographs of resected lungs in each group are revealed. H. Representative H&E staining images of lungs are shown (scale bar, 200 μm). The metastatic nodules are indicated by arrows. I and J. The number of mice with lung metastasis and metastatic nodules were calculated in the two groups. *, P < 0.05; **, P < 0.01; ***, P < 0.001.