Figure 5

Effect of the expression of Y477F ezrin on lung metastasis formation. Mice from which primary tumors were removed (corresponding to Additional file 2: Figure S2) were allowed to survive for 20 additional days to allow overt metastases to form. Serial sections (5 μm) of FFPE processed lung tissues were stained with hematoxylin and eosin for histopathological assessment. At least two sections from the superficial and middle planes, respectively, of each mouse lung were examined and the number of lung nodules per mouse was determined. Panel A) The table shows the proportion of mice with metastasis in each group. The incidence of mice with lung metastases from Y477F ezrin tumors (A43 and C13 clones) was reduced, but this difference did not achieve significance, as determined by a two-sided Fisher Exact test. Panel B) The number of lung nodules per mouse per group is represented as a dot plot. Statistical significance was determined by a Wilcoxon Rank Sum test. Mean +/- 95% confidence intervals (bars) is shown for each group. A significant reduction in the number of nodules per mouse with clone A43 tumors was observed (p = 0.0129). The number of lung nodules in C13 tumors was also reduced, but this value was not significant (p = 0.0853), due to one outlier. Analysis of pooled data showed a significant reduction in lung nodules in mice with A43 and C13 tumors combined, compared to mice with pCB6 tumors (p = 0.0131).