Figure 5.

Inhibition of tumor growth by Spn4A and α1-PDX is associated with reduced PCs activity and repressed LGR5 and NANOG expression. (a,b), Control colon cancer cells and the same cells stably expressing Spn4A (Spn4A) or α1-PDX (PDX) were injected subcutaneously into mice. The animals were monitored for tumor formation every 2–3 days. Results are representative of three experiments. Values are mean ± S.E.M (n = 6 per group). * p < 0.05; (c,d), Subcutaneously developed tumors were removed and their protein extracts were incubated with pERTKR-MCA. Substrate cleavage was evaluated as raw fluorescence intensity (RFI) at indicated time periods. (e,g), Results shown in the bar graph represent NANOG (e,f) and LGR5 (g,h) expression in the developed tumors derived from control and Spn4A-expressing tumor cells or α1-PDX-expressing cells analyzed by real-time PCR. Results are representative of three experiments and data are mean ± S.E.M performed in triplicate. * p < 0.05.