Fig. 1

ZMIZ2 expression in NSCLC cells and specimens and its association with poor overall survival. A In a panel of NSCLC cell lines (n = 7) and an immortal bronchial epithelial cell line (HBE), immunofluorescence assays revealed nuclear localization of ZMIZ2. B, C IHC analysis demonstrated weak or negative expression of ZMIZ2 in human bronchial epithelium and alveolar epithelium (10/32, a, b). Positive expression was observed in the nucleus in adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma tissues (55/93, c, d). In lymph node metastatic lung adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma, ZMIZ2 exhibited stronger nuclear expression (38.2% versus 82.0%, P < 0.05, e, f) (magnification, 400× ; scale bar, 50 μm). D Western blotting analysis indicated higher ZMIZ2 expression in tumor cell lines (5/7) than that in HBE. Columns represent mean values, and the bars represent the standard deviation (SD). (*P < 0.05, ** P < 0.01, *** P < 0.001). Grayscale values of ZMIZ2 were measured by ImageJ from triplicate experiments. E Kaplan–Meier analysis indicated a significantly lower 5 year overall survival rate for patients with positive ZMIZ2 expression (n = 55, 58.0 ± 1.2 months) compared with those with negative ZMIZ2 expression (n = 38, 39.0 ± 10.4 months). (P = 0.001). F, G Scatter plot analysis detected using western blotting showed higher ZMIZ2 expression in cancer tissues (26/32) than that in the adjacent normal lung tissues (***P < 0.001)