Fig. 1

ESCC tumor implantation mobilizes FGFR2⁺ BM cells into peripheral blood. A. FGFR2⁺ cells in peripheral blood were monitored by FCM at a series of indicated time points after s.c. injection of ESCC cells or tumor resection. Based on size (FSC-H) and granularity (SSC-H), leukocytes were divided into P1, P2 and P3 (dot plot on the right). The percentage of FGFR2⁺ cells in each faction were measured and summarized in left panel. The data are represented as mean ± SD on 5 independent samples. B. FGFR2⁺ cells in BM were evaluated by FCM (upper panel) at a series of indicated time points after ESCC tumor implantation or resection. The data are represented as mean ± SD on 3 independent samples. *, P < 0.05; **, P < 0.01; ***, P < 0.001. Representative images of IF staining with FGFR2 antibody (green) in the same BM samples are shown in lower panel. Nuclei were counterstained with DAPI (blue). FGFR2⁺ cells are pointed by yellow arrows. Selected regions are magnified. (original magnification, 400 ×). Abbreviations: ESCC, esophageal squamous cell carcinoma; FCM, flow cytometry; BM, bone marrow; s.c., subcutaneous; SD, standard deviation; IF, immunofluorescence