CD147 downregulation reduces tumor growth and metastasis formation in human melanoma. (a) In vivo xenograft growth. BLM-scrambled and BLM-CD147-miRNAs were inoculated in nude mice for 26 days. Results represent two independent experiments with 10 mice in each group. Columns represent means of tumor volume at sacrifice. Bars; SEM, ** p < 0.005. (b) Representative images of confocal fluorescent micro-metastasis (white arrows) in mice’s lymph node, lung and liver. 40x Magnification. Scale bar: 20 µm. (c) Quantification of the micro-metastatic foci in mice lymph nodes, lungs, and livers. (d) qRT-PCR of PROX1, LYVE-1, and VEGFR3 expression in BLM-scrambled or BLM-CD147-miRNAs tumors, using PPIA as a reference. Columns indicate means of three independent experiments carried out in triplicate; and bars, SD; * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.005, *** p < 0.0001.