Fig. 3

RBPj deficiency in SM22-MCs promotes tumor malignancy. a-b RBPj^∆SM22 and Ctrl mice were inoculated with LLC cells for 21 days. Tumor volume was monitored every other day from day 11. Tumor weight was measured on day 21 (n = 5). c Tumor sections were stained with Ki67. The percentages of Ki67⁺ cells were quantitatively compared between the RBPj^∆SM22 and Ctrl mice (n = 5). d Tumor sections were stained with H&E or PIMO. The necrotic (marked by red lines), hemorrhagic (marked by stars), and hypoxic areas (PIMO⁺) were quantitatively compared between the RBPj^∆SM22 and Ctrl mice (n = 5). e-f LLC cells were transfected with lenti-luciferase (e) or lenti-GFP (f) and inoculated in the RBPj^∆SM22 and Ctrl mice. Tumors were removed on day 14 and the mice were maintained for 21 more days. Lung metastasis was evaluated under an in vivo imaging system (e) (n = 6 for Ctrl and n = 5 for RBPj^∆SM22). Circulating GFP⁺ LLC cells in the blood (white arrows) was determined using a fluorescence microscope and quantitatively compared (f) (n = 4 for Ctrl, n = 3 for RBPj^∆SM22). Bars = means ± SD. *, P < 0.05; and **, P < 0.01