Fig. 4

Ectopic expression of HEGBC promoted GBC growth and metastasis in vivo. a HEGBC stably overexpressed and control NOZ cells were subcutaneously injected into nude mice. Tumor volumes were detected every 7 days. b The subcutaneous tumor weights were detected at the 28th day after injection. c Representative images of the subcutaneous tumors formed by HEGBC stably overexpressed and control NOZ cells. Scale bars, 1 cm. d Immunohistochemical staining of Ki67 in subcutaneous tumors formed by HEGBC stably overexpressed and control NOZ cells. Scale bars, 100 μm. e TUNEL staining of subcutaneous tumors formed by HEGBC stably overexpressed and control NOZ cells. Scale bars, 100 μm. f HEGBC stably overexpressed and control NOZ cells were injected through the spleen to establish liver metastasis. The number of liver metastatic foci was detected at the 42th day after intra-splenic injection using HE staining. Scale bars, 400 μm. Results are shown as mean ± s.d. of 5 mice in each group. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01 by Mann-Whitney test