Xenograft Tumor Model

BALB/c nude mice (male, aged 4–6 weeks) were used for the xenograft assays. Animal studies were performed in compliance with the ARRIVE guidelines and the Basel Declaration. Experimental procedures were approved by the Institutional and Local Committee on the Care and Use of Animals of The Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University. All animals received humane care according to the National Institutes of Health (USA) guidelines. LoVo cells (2×10⁶) transfected with sh-FTX or sh-NC were subcutaneously injected into the one flank of the nude mice. Subsequently, the tumor sizes were measured every seven days and the tumor volumes were calculated. After 30 days, all mice were killed and then tumor masses were weighted and used for subsequent molecular analysis.