Fig. 1

a–f levels of IL-6, IL-6R, gp130, CD68(+) macrophages and MVD in peritumoral liver tissue and tumor tissue. Peritumoral HIF-1α, IL-6, IL-6R, CD68, gp130, and CD31 gradually increased after seven weeks of tumor growth. The samples were then examined by tissue microarray and IHC (expression levels from representative mice in the seven weeks of tumor growth, as indicated by IHC, are shown in a; the expression curve during the seven weeks is shown in c). However, the expression patterns of all the six factors were not similar in the tumor tissue because they were gradually up-regulated until five weeks and then became down-regulated, the expression curves after seven weeks of tumor growth are shown in b and d. The expression of IL-6, IL-6R, and gp130 in both peritumoral and tumor tissue were also confirmed by Western blot analysis (f). Bar, 50 μm. * P < 0.05; **P < 0.01