Relative mRNA expression of melanoma genes in lungs as a function of tumor cell dose.

<p>Mice were injected with 10², 10³, 10⁴, 10⁵, or 10⁶ B16.F10gp melanoma cells into the tail vein. Two hours later, lungs were collected and snap frozen in liquid nitrogen. Total RNA was extracted and either used directly for one-step triplex Q-PCR (dark grey) or converted into cDNA and used for singleplex (white) or triplex Q-PCR (light grey). The mRNA expression of melanoma genes GP100 (A) and TRP-2 (B) was quantified relative to the house keeping gene GAPDH. The experiment was performed twice with similar outcomes, and bars depict medians and ranges of two mice per group. The relative mRNA expression of one untreated mouse was used as the calibrator and set to 1.