Inflammatory microenvironment and expression of chemokines in hepatocellular carcinoma

Figure 1 Establishment of mouse model with CBRH-7919 cells. A xenograft tumor is apparent in the subcutaneous abdominal region.

Figure 2 Tumor growth curve determined by the international veterinary information service system.

Figure 3 Tumor tissues from nude mice were stained with hematoxylin and eosin. A: Tumor tissue (× 200); B: Peritumor tissue (× 200).

Figure 4 Inflammatory cell infiltration in tumors compared to adjacent peritumoral tissues. A, C, E: Peritumoral tissues; B: Increased macrophage infiltrate in tumor tissue; D: Increased neutrophil infiltrate in tumor tissue; F: CD25+, activated T cells were increased in tumor tissue.

Figure 5 Hierarchical clustering analysis and line plots of genes with altered expression in tumor tissues compared with peritumoral tissues. Expression profiles of chemokine-associated genes were obtained using a PCR microarray. Two-dimensional hierarchical clusters were prepared in GeneSpring 6.1 and Gene Tree View using these gene expression profiles. Red: Upregulation; Green: Downregulation.

Figure 6 CXCL1, CXCL2, CXCL3, and CXCR1 expression in carcinoma cells xenografted into nude mice. Immunostaining for A, B: CXCL1; C, D: CXCL2; E, F; CXCL3; and G, H: CXCR1 in pertumoral (A, C, E and G) and tumor (B, D, F and H) tissues (× 200). Western blot analyses of the tumor and peritumoral tissues from the CBRH-7919 cell line or shown to the right in tumor (N) and peritumoral (A) tissues.

Figure 7 Growth CBRH-7919 xenografts with silencing of CXCL1. Tumor growth curve was determined by the International Veterinary Information Service system. All data are expressed as mean ± SD; ^aP < 0.05 vs control (NC). shCXCL1: Short hairpin RNA targeting CXCL1.

Figure 8 Expression of CXCL2, CXCL3 and IL-1β with CXCL1 silencing. Representative Western blot showing expression in control untreated (1), control RNA interference (NC-RNAi-LV; 2), and CXCL1-targeted RNA interference (CXCL1-RNAi-LV; 3) groups; ^aP < 0.05, ^bP < 0.01 vs control.