Fig. 3

LINC00022 promotes tumorigenesis of ESCC in vivo. (A) Knockdown of LINC00022 effectively attenuated cell growth of KYSE150 in nude mice (n = 4) (left panel). The tumor volume was recorded every three days from day 15 to day 30 after cell transplantation, and the curve was plotted (middle panel). Tumors were weighed immediately after removed from the nude mice (right panel), *p < 0.05. (B) The expression of LINC00022 in tumors was analyzed by qRT-PCR, **p < 0.01. (C) Over-expression of LINC00022 evidently promoted subcutaneous tumorigenicity of KYSE70 cells in nude mice (n = 5) (left panel). The tumor volume was monitored every four days from day 10 to day 26 after cell inoculation, and the curve was generated (middle panel). Over-expression of LINC00022 resulted in greater tumor size (right panel), *p < 0.05. (D) Analysis of LINC00022 expression in tumors by qRT-PCR, ***p < 0.001. (E) Tumor sections were stained with HE (left panel) and Ki-67 antibody (middle panel) (scale bar = 100 μm). Tumor sections with LINC00022 knockdown had fewer Ki-67 positive cells (right panel), *p < 0.05. (F) The number of Ki-67 positive cells in tumor sections was examined by IHC (left panel). Tumors with LINC00022 over-expression had more Ki-67 positive cells (right panel), ***p < 0.001