Figure 7

YAP partially abolishes Fbxw7’s suppression of tumor growth. A) Control Hep3B cells (EV, n = 6), Fbxw7 overexpressing Hep3B cells (Flag-Fbxw7, n = 6) and co-expressing Hep3B cells (Flag-Fbxw7 + HA-YAP, n = 6), respectively, were implanted into nude mice via subcutaneous injection. Tumor nodules were measured using a caliper at different times after implantation. Fbxw7 overexpressing Hep3B cells exhibited a greater tumor-inhibiting effect compared with control cells; however, restoring YAP expression accelerated tumor growth, compared with the Flag-Fbxw7 group. **P < 0.01 by two-way ANOVA. B) Tumor nodules were subjected to immunohistochemical staining for YAP and Ki-67, TUNEL assays and quantitative analysis. Representative immunostaining and TUNEL assays revealed that Fbxw7 overexpression significantly reduced the number of YAP and Ki-67 positive cells and increased the number of apoptotic cells. However, the percentage of YAP and Ki-67 positive cells in tumors arising from the Flag-Fbxw7 + HA-YAP group was significantly higher than that in the tumors from the Flag-Fbxw7 group and the percentage of apoptotic cells in the Flag-Fbxw7 + HA-YAP group was significantly lower than that in the Flag-Fbxw7 group. Black arrows indicate positive cells in each photomicrograph. Scale bar: 100 μm; n = 6; Values are depicted as the Mean ± SEM; *P < 0.05 and **P < 0.01 by one-way ANOVA.