Fig. 3

p53 silencing increases CTCs in the blood as a function of increased tumor growth. Mouse mammary fat pads were engrafted with BC3-p53WT or BC3-p53KD. Whole blood was extracted from mice in a terminal blood draw by cardiac puncture. Red blood cells were lysed, and circulating tumor cells (CTCs) were assessed by flow cytometry for mCherry-positive cells. Bioluminescence imaging (BLI) was performed on mammary tumors and lungs at necropsy. a CTCs were quantified by flow cytometry at the indicated time points. p = 0.71 (5 weeks); p = 0.06 (9 weeks); p = 0.40 (12 weeks); p = 0.10 (15 weeks); p = 0.07 (18 weeks), Wilcoxon rank sum tests. b CTCs were quantified as in (a), and numbers from each time point were combined to increase cohort size. p <0.001, F-test. c CTC number from each mouse was normalized to total photon flux of the corresponding primary tumor. Data are presented as a combination of all time points as in (b). p = 0.072, F-test. d and e BC3-p53WT tumors were implanted to mammary glands 3 weeks prior to implantation of BC3-p53KD, and CTCs were quantified on the same day by flow cytometry (d, p = 0.43, t test) when tumors were equivalent in size (e, p = 0.73, t test). f Spatially distinct regions of bioluminescence in lungs of tumor-bearing mice were quantified manually. p = 0.09, Wilcoxon rank sum test. Each data point represents one mouse. All error bars represent standard error of the mean (SEM)