2.15. Mouse xenograft assay

For mouse xenograft assay, six-week-old BALB/c-nu/nu mice were randomly divided into two different experimental groups. Renal cancer cells were collected and suspended in 100μl PBS mixing with Matrigel (BD 356234, 2:1) and injected into the nude mouse (5 mice for each group). The volume of tumour was measured with a vernier caliper every 4d and calculated by the formula: L × W² × 0.52 (L: the longest diameter of the tumour, W: the shortest diameter of the tumour). After 40 days, mice were killed and the tumours were dissected and weighted. The animal studies were conducted in accordance with guidelines and approved by Animal Experimentation Ethical Committee of Soochow University (Suzhou, Jiangsu, China).