Fig. 1

CTCs from GC peripheral blood samples are identified with high-sensitivity CSV antibody 84-1 and verified using spiking assays and WES. A The overall workflow of the CTCs detection technique using both the CSV and EpCAM markers. B Immunofluorescence staining for CSV (green), CD45, and EMT markers (red) in CTCs from a HER-2-positive GC peripheral blood sample. Scale = 10 μm. C Micrographs showing CFSE-labeled BGC-823 cells in peripheral blood mononuclear cells from healthy donors, CSV (84-1, red); tracker dye CFSE (green) and nuclear stain (blue). Scale = 10 μm. D & E Recovery rates for each concentration of spiked cells. The mean values were from at least three independent experiments (error bars indicate standard deviation). F Correlation of CTCs counts between the numbers of recovered cells and spiked cells. G WES analysis of CTCs isolated from two GC patients’ peripheral blood and matched tumor tissues. Venn diagrams showing common genes identified from paired tissue and CTCs. H Heatmap representation of the significantly mutated genes and mutation types from WES