HERC5 inhibits tumor-associated aggressiveness in a mouse model.A Representative images of CTCs and DTCs detected in murine blood after intracardial injection of 500,000 A549 PAR-LUC and HERC5 KO-LUC cells. Tumor cells were enriched by a size-based enrichment technique and identified by pankeratin positivity, while CD45 was used as an exclusion marker. B Total CTC counts in pooled blood from 5 mice from the A549 PAR and HERC5 KO cohorts show an increase in CTCs in those mice injected with A549 HERC5 KO cells. C Average DTC amount per 1 million cells is elevated in HERC5 KO cells, however not significantly (n = 5). D and E Adrenal gland metastases were found only in the A549 HERC5 KO cohort; thus, the total number and volume per mouse were significantly increased compared to A549 PAR cohort (p = 0.047; n = 5; Mann–Whitney U test, respectively). F Representative image of adrenal gland metastases identified using HE staining. G and H The total number and volume of brain metastases per mouse were slightly higher in the A549 KO cohort; however, these differences were not significant (n = 5). I Representative image of brain metastases identified using pankeratin IHC staining and hematoxylin counterstaining. Error bars in bar plots are depicting the standard deviation
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