Baseline patient characteristics (n = 124).

<p>Abbreviations: IQR, interquartile range; KPS, Karnofsky performance status; BMI, body mass index; BSA, body surface area; SM, skeletal muscle; VAT, visceral adipose tissue; SAT, subcutaneous adipose tissue; HU, Hounsfield unit.</p><p>Baseline patient characteristics (n = 124).</p

Correlation of visceral adipose tissue area between the level of L3 and umbilicus in the supine position.

<p>Correlation of visceral adipose tissue area between the level of L3 and umbilicus in the supine position.</p

Correlations between VAT index, clinical characteristics and malnutrition inflammation scores.

<p>Abbreviations: VATI, visceral adipose tissue index; S.E, standard error; KPS, Karnofsky performance status; Alb, albumin; Hb, hemoglobin; NLR, neutrophil:lymphocyte ratio.</p><p>* One-way analysis of variance</p><p>Correlations between VAT index, clinical characteristics and malnutrition inflammation scores.</p

Cox regression models analyzing the potential influence of body composition variables on OS times.

<p>Abbreviations: HR, hazard ratio; VATI, visceral adipose tissue index; SATI, subcutaneous adipose tissue index; SMI, skeletal muscle index; BMI, body mass index; BSA, body surface area; VATD, visceral adipose tissue density; SATD, subcutaneous adipose tissue density; SMD, skeletal muscle density</p><p>* interaction term with BMI was included</p><p>Cox regression models analyzing the potential influence of body composition variables on OS times.</p

Kaplan—Meier assessment of overall survival according to visceral adipose tissue (VAT) index.

<p>A: Kaplan—Meier assessment of overall survival when VAT index was quartered. B: Kaplan-Meier assessment of overall survival in male patients when VAT index was dichotomized by 33.3 cm²/m². C: Kaplan-Meier assessment of overall survival in female patients when VAT index was dichotomized by 17.7 cm²/m².</p

The mRNA and protein expression levels of Tyr, Trp1, Pmel17, OA1 and MITF were modulated by GPNMB down-regulation.

<p>The mRNA (A) and protein (B) expression levels were evaluated using real-time quantitative PCR and Western blotting, respectively. Data were normalized based on the β-actin levels and were represented as relative expression levels. *p<0.05 by Student's <i>t</i> test when compared with the control group.</p

Tyr expression was decreased by GPNMB-siRNA transfection.

<p>The mRNA (A) or protein (B) expression levels of Tyr and GPNMB in melanocytes PIG1 treated by UVB radiation, GPNMB-siRNA transfection or both of them were determined using real-time quantitative PCR or Western blotting, respectively. The effect of Tyr-siRNA treatment on GPNMB and Tyr expression levels were also determined using real-time quantitative PCR and Western blotting. Data were normalized based on the β-actin levels and were represented as relative expression levels. *p<0.05 by Student's <i>t</i> test when compared with the control group.</p

TEM analysis of PIG1 melanocytes with different levels of GPNMB expression modulated by different treatments.

<p>PIG1 melanocytes cultured on 35 mm dishes were treated with UVB radiation, siRNA or both. After 72 hours of incubation, cells were harvested for TEM analysis. UVB radiation increased the number of mature melanosomes. While, GPNMB-siRNA treatment led to a sharply decrease of the number of melanosomes in all stage. Inset showed a 2× magnification of the indicated region of the cell. Arrows indicated mature melanosomes.</p

UVB radiation up-regulated the expression of GPNMB.

<p>(A) PIG1 melanocytes were exposed to a dose of 20 mJ/cm² UVB radiation and cultured for the indicated times. The mRNA expression levels were determined using real-time quantitative PCR, and were normalized based on the β-actin levels. Data were represented as relative mRNA expression levels, which were the ratio of normalized mRNA expression levels of UVB-irradiated samples to those of non-UVB-irradiated samples. (B) PIG1 melanocytes exposed to a dose of 20 mJ/cm² of UVB radiation were harvested and lysed after the indicated incubation times. Western blotting was performed to examine protein expression of GPNMB. The expression levels of GPNMB were normalized based on the β-actin levels. Densitometric data were represented as mean±SEM in triplicate. *p<0.05. (C) Double immunofluorescence was performed with anti-Tyr antibody (green) to detect melanosomes and anti-GPNMB antibody (red) to identify the expression of GPNMB. Nuclear stained with DAPI (blue) were introduced for visualization purposes. Fluorescence was observed and analyzed with a fluorescence microscope. Left: Tyr staining (in green); Middle: GPNMB staining (in red); Right: merged (in yellow).</p