Figure 2From: Genetic depletion and pharmacological targeting of αv integrin in breast cancer cells impairs metastasis in zebrafish and mouse xenograft models Integrin αv is required for tumor cell invasion and metastasis in xenografted zebrafish. (A) Schematic diagram of the zebrafish embryo xenograft model. (B) mCherry-labeled MDA-MB-231 cells infected with control shRNA (Co. sh) or αv integrin knockdown shRNAs (KD 1 and KD 2) were injected into zebrafish at 48 hours post fertilization (hpf). Confocal images were made 6 days post implantion (dpi). Arrows indicate invasive tumor cells, scale bar: 500 μm. (C) Percentage of embryos displaying invasion and metastasis detected at day 6 post injection. Data ± SD are representative of three independent experiments (each, n >50). Control versus αv KD 1 P <0.01; control versus αv KD 2 P <0.001. (D) High-resolution images of tumor cells in the posterior tail fin (upper panel, fluorescence; lower panel, transmitted). Arrows indicate invasive tumor cells, scale bar: 100 μm. (E) Area of invasive cells in each embryo (n = 18). Control versus αv KD 1 P <0.01; control versus αv integrin KD 2 P <0.05. (F) Invasion and metastasis in zebrafish xenografted with control or αv integrin knocked-down MCF10A-M4 cells at 6 dpi. Arrows indicate invasive tumor cells, scale bar: 500 μm. (G) Percentage of embryos displaying invasion and metastasis detected at day 6 post-injection. Control versus αv KD 1 P <0.01; control versus αv KD 2 P <0.01. (H) High-resolution images of tumor cells in the posterior tail fin (upper panel, fluorescence; lower panel, transmitted). Arrows indicate invasive tumor cells, scale bar: 100 μm. (I) Area of metastatic clusters in each embryo (n = 30). Control versus αv KD 1 P <0.01; control versus αv KD 2 P <0.001.Back to article page