Fig. 3

CTCs captured using the microfluidic CTC capture chip from mice with breast cancer orthotopic xenografts. a Photos of MDA-MB-231 xenografts, 1 cm scale bar. The arrow indicates the small tumor at 3 weeks. b Representative staining images showing CTCs captured on nanorough glass surfaces from mice with MDA-MB-231 tumor xenografts. Cells were co-stained for nuclei (DAPI; blue), cytokeratin (green), and CD45 (red). c-e Temporal changes in CTC number and tumor weight during tumor progression. Tumor weight (c) from mice with MDA-MB-231 and SUM-149 tumor xenografts as a function of xenograft time. Scatter plot (d) of CTC number per 100 μL blood vs. tumor weight. Bar plot (e) showing number of CTCs captured by the microfluidic CTC chip as a function of xenograft time. For each CTC capture assay, 300–800 μL blood samples were obtained via cardiac puncture. Error bars, s.e.m