Fig. 8

Inhibition of colon cancer cell metastasis after knockdown of PCSK9 expression in vivo. a, Fluorescence microscopy. HCT116 and HT-29 cells were grown and infected with lentivirus carrying PCSK9 siRNA or negative control siRNA for 48 h, and then subjected to fluorescence microscopy. b–d, qRT-PCR and Western blot. The assays confirmed the PCSK9 protein knockdown in tumor cells. e, Nude mouse xenograft model. Morphology of lung metastasis in PCSK9 deficiency HCT116 cells. f, The tail vein-lung metastasis model. Cells were injected into the tail vein to produce tumor cell lung metastasis. g, H&E staining. Lung and liver tissues were resected at the end of experiment and processed for tissue section and H&E staining to show histopathological changes of the lung and liver. Scale bar, 500 µm (a low magnification) or 50 µm (a high magnification). NC, negative control; *p < 0.05; **p < 0.01; ***p < 0.001