Collagen fibrils were analyzed using transmission electron microscopy (TEM).

<p>Collagen fibril diameter distribution and average fibril diameter per tumor in 4T1 (n = 7 and n = 5) tumors (A, B), showed a shift towards thinner fibrils in SCID integrin α11-deficient (α11-KO) mice. RM11 tumors (n = 4 and n = 3) (C, D) and dermis (n = 4 and n = 3) (E, F) showed no significant differences in average collagen fibril diameter in SCID integrin α11 wild type (WT) and SCID integrin α11-deficient (α11-KO) mice (RM11 p = 0.20, dermis p = 0.47) using unpaired two-tailed t-test. Mean ± SD. * p < 0.006. Representative TEM images of collagen fibrils from both genotypes in 4T1 tumors (G, H), RM11 tumors (I, J) and dermis (K, L) are shown. Scale bars indicate 0.2 μm.</p

Histomorphometric quantification of H & E -stained lungs from the 4T1 model from SCID integrin α11 wild type (WT) (n = 4) and SCID integrin α11-deficient (α11-KO) (n = 5) mice.

<p>Average number of metastasis per section (A) and average area per section (B) is shown. The horizontal lines indicate the mean values. No significant differences were observed (p = 0.73 and p = 0.79) using Mann U Whitney t-test and unpaired two-tailed t-test, respectively. A representative lung with metastasis from a WT mouse is shown (C, D). Scale bar indicates 100 μm.</p