Fig. 10

Schwann cells accelerated the tumorigenesis and metastasis of colon cancer in vivo. A. Schematic illustration of the animal experiment design. Colon cancer cells were cultured alone or co-cultured with Schwann cells. Forty-eight hours later, colon cancer cells were digested and injected into the subcutaneous or the tail vein of BALB/C nu/nu mice. After four weeks, the mice were sacrificed. B-D. Co-cultured with Schwann cells increased the volume and weight of subcutaneous tumors. C. The volume of transplanted tumors was measured by the Vernier caliper every 1 week. D. The solid tumors were peeled off and the weight was measured by electronic balance. E. The number of tumors in the lung was counted upon co-cultured with Schwann cell or not. F. HE staining showed the tumors in the lung of mice. G-H. The number of tumors in the lung and the lung weight/body weight (%) were significantly increased when co-cultured with Schwann cells. I-K. Inhibition of NGF or miR-21-5p blocked the increased volume and weight of subcutaneous tumors when co-cultured with Schwann cells. J. The volume of transplanted tumors was measured by the Vernier caliper every 1 week. K. The solid tumors were peeled off and the weight was measured by electronic balance. Ro 08-2750: the inhibitor of NGF. miR-inh: the inhibitor of miR-21-5p. All data were revealed as means ± standard deviation (SD) for no less than three independent experiments. Significant P values showed as **P < 0.01, and ***P < 0.001