PKCε plays a role in invasion and metastatic dissemination of NSCLC cells.

<p>A549 cells were subject to stable PKCε depletion using two different shRNA lentiviruses (ε1 and ε2) or control cells (<i>CTRL</i>, non-target shRNA lentivirus) and selected with puromycin. Cells were inoculated <i>i.v.</i> into athymic mice. A. Levels of PKCε depletion achieved in stable cells lines. A representative Western blot is shown. B. Incidence of metastasis per lung in mice sacrificed 100 days post-inoculation of cells. *, p<0.05; **,p<0.01. C. Area of tumors as determined in microscopic images. **, p<0.01. D. Representative images of lungs from mice inoculated with PKCε-depleted or control cells. <i>Arrows</i>, metastatic foci in whole-fixed lungs (<i>top panels</i>) or in lungs stained with hematoxilin and eosin (H&E) (<i>bottom panels</i>). E. Overall survival of mice inoculated with PKCε-depleted or control A549 cells.