Fig. 1

Epithelial ACVRIB expression in ESCC patient samples is dependent upon the expression of Activin A. a Representative immunofluorescence staining of microarray samples (whole section image shown of tumor tissues Stage I-IV and lymph node [LN]) for INHBA/Activin A, ACVRIB, K14, and vimentin (Vim). b Using a linear generalized estimating equation (GEE), a significant interaction was found between total Activin A expression and epithelial ACVRIB as a predictor of stage. Though epithelial ACVRIB expression was not a predictor of stage alone, we found that stromal INHBA/Activin A and epithelial ACVRIB expression showed a significant interaction. Analysis of immunofluorescence was performed on the whole tissue section. (TMA = 200 cores) c Graphical illustration of the relationship between epithelial expression of ACVRIB and stromal expression of ACVRIIB, measured by intensity in μm², in the TMA samples. Each dot represents a single patient sample. d Western blot of ACVRIB and ACVRIIB of the TE series of ESCC cell lines. β-actin was used as a loading control