Fig. 5

Low miR-146a or high vimentin expression levels in the tumorous ESCC tissue array correlated with poor overall survival rate. a The miR-146a levels in the tumorous and adjacent non-tumorous cells of 68 paired ESCC patient specimens in the tissue array after ISH treatment were quantified by defining regions of interest (ROI) using automated cell acquisition and quantification software (Histoquest™) (P < 0.001). b The protein levels of vimentin in the same ESCC specimens used in (a) were stained by IHC followed by Histoquest™ quantification (P < 0.0001). c Two representative patient specimens containing tumorous and adjacent non-tumorous cells from the 68 ESCC patients were analyzed to determine miR-146a and vimentin expression levels after ISH and IHC treatment. Hematoxylin was used to stain nucleus and AEC (3-amino-9-ethylcarbazole) for miR-146a and vimentin expression. Scale bar 20 μm. The correlation of (d) miR-146a level (P < 0.0001) and (e) vimentin expression (P < 0.05) with ESCC patient overall survival rate were assessed by Kaplan–meier analysis and Log rank test