Fig. 4

Capture of CTCs from metastatic and non-metastatic syngeneic mouse models of lung cancer. a Photos of lung metastases from 344SQ (top) and 393P (bottom) implants. Mouse 344SQ lung cancer cells are highly metastatic, while mouse 393P lung cancer cells are metastasis-incompetent. b Representative staining images showing CTCs captured on nanorough glass surfaces from mice implanted with 344SQ cells. Cells were co-stained for nuclei (DAPI; blue), cytokeratin (green), and CD45 (red). c-g Analysis of CTC number and tumor volume for mice with 344SQ and 393P tumor allografts. Bar plots show tumor volume (c) and CTC number per 100 μL blood (d) for individual mice. Bar plots showing average tumor volume (e) and average CTC number per 100 μL blood (f) of all mice. Scatter plot (g) of CTC number per 100 μL blood vs. tumor volume for mice with 344SQ and 393P tumor allografts. Mice were subcutaneously implanted with tumor allografts of 344SQ and 393P lung cancer cells. For each CTC capture assay, 350–600 μL blood samples were obtained via cardiac puncture. Error bars, s.e.m. *, p < 0.05