Fig. 5. Exosomal LINC01133 can promote the tumorigenicity of pancreatic cancer cells in vivo, as well as EMT.

A 4 × 10⁶ CFPAC-1 cells treated with Si-LINC01133, Si-NC, Lv-LINC01133, or Lv-NC were injected into the right side of nude mice. A month later, the mice were sacrificed, and all tumor grafts were excised. B CFPAC-1 cells treated with Lv-LINC01133 exhibited increased weight of xenografts. In contrast, CFPAC-1 cells treated with Si-LINC01133 showed reduced weight of xenografts (**P < 0.01 vs. NC). C CFPAC-1 cells treated with Lv-LINC01133 exhibited quicker growth and increased tumor volume. In contrast, CFPAC-1 cells treated with Si-LINC01133 showed slower growth and reduced tumor volume of xenografts (**P < 0.01 vs. NC). D 1 × 10⁶ CFPAC-1 cells treated with Si-LINC01133, Si-NC, Lv-LINC01133 or Lv-NC were respectively injected into the lower left quadrant of the abdomen and the dissemination ability in the abdominal cavity was evaluated. The metastatic nodules are marked by white arrowheads. E LINC01133 significantly inhibited apoptosis in xenograft tumors of CFPAC-1 cells as shown by TUNEL assay. The apoptosis rate was counted in five random fields and the experiment was repeated three times. Data are shown as mean ± SD (**P < 0.01 vs. NC). F Expression of E-cadherin and Vimentin in xenograft tumors was then analyzed by immunofluorescence.