Fig. 4
Effect of TSPAN3 overexpression on the proliferation of NSCLC cell lines in vitro with the presence of FN and in vivo. A, B TSPAN3 overexpression promoted the proliferation of A549 and H460 cells in presence of fibronectin (FN), as detected by colony formation, MTS and Edu assays (n = 3 independent experiments). C The volume and weight of transplanted tumors in mice injected with cells stably overexpressing TSPAN3 were greater than those in mice injected with the empty vector, whereas the transplanted tumors in mice injected with cells stably knockdown of TSPAN3 showed opposite effects [pTSPAN3 versus pControl (pCtrl), volume: 0.51 ± 0.09 cm3 versus 1.38 ± 0.13 cm3 (P < 0.01), weight: 0.80 ± 0.05 g versus 1.29 ± 0.11 g (P < 0.001); sh-TSPAN3 versus sh-control (sh-Ctrl), volume: 0.01 ± 0.01 cm3 versus 0.61 ± 0.37 cm3 (P < 0.05), weight: 0.23 ± 0.12 g versus 0.99 ± 0.11 g (P < 0.0001]]. *P < 0.05; **P < 0.01; ***P < 0.001;****P < 0.0001. FBS, bovine serum; PBS, phosphate buffered saline