Fig. 5
RNA interference against PKM2 inhibited tumor progression in nude mice. SKBR-3, SKBR-3-LV, and SKBR-3-shPKM2 tumor cells (5 × 106 cells/per inoculation) were injected into mammary fat pads of 5-week-old female nude mice (n = 9/group). Tumor volumes were measured using calipers and defined as ab2/2, where a and b corresponded to length and width, respectively. A cohort of mice was sacrificed 5 weeks after injection. (a, b, c) Tumor volume and primary weights of mice in the SKBR-3-shPKM2 group were significantly smaller than that of mice in the SKBR-3 and SKBR-3-LV groups (P < 0.01). (d) A survival curve revealed that RNA interference against PKM2 increased the survival of tumor-bearing mice, compared with mice in the SKBR-3 and SKBR-3-LV groups (P < 0.01). (e–f) H&E staining demonstrated that RNA interference against PKM2 inhibited lung metastasis of breast cancer xenografts. Immunohistochemistry staining demonstrated that RNA interference against PKM2 resulted in the increased expression of E-cadherin and decreased expression of vimentin, fibronectin and Twist