Fig. 2
The FAK inhibitor defactinib (VS6063) can suppress NSCLC metastasis induced by overexpression of FTO in vivo. a GSEA based on the TCGA dataset showed that high expression of FTO was associated with focal adhesion. ES, enrichment score. NES, normalized enrichment score. FDR, false discovery rate. b Western blot analysis showed that FTO can affect FAK signaling. c A flowchart of the NSCLC cell in vivo metastasis model. A549 cells overexpressing FTO or empty vector (1.8 × 106 cells/mouse) were injected i.v. into BALB/c nude mice (n = 5 mice per group). VS6063 or DMSO was administered i.g. as described in the Methods beginning in week 5. d The relative mRNA and protein expression levels of FTO in the A549 cells used to establish the in vivo metastasis model. e Photographs of lung metastatic nodules that developed in mice after injection of FTO-overexpressing or control vector A549 cells and administration of DMSO or VS6063. The red arrowheads indicate metastatic nodules that developed in the lungs. f Comparison of the number of lung metastatic nodules among the three groups. g H&E staining was carried out to evaluate lung micrometastatic foci. Representative histological images of micrometastatic foci in the three groups. The red arrowheads denote micrometastatic foci. Scale bar, 100 μm. Data information: Data are shown as the mean ± SDs. In all relevant panels, *P < 0.05; **P < 0.01; ***P < 0.001