Fig. 7

TGF-β1 effectively promoted tumor growth and metastasis when MDA-MB-231 co-cultured with MCF-7 compared with the other two groups. a The tumors, Hematoxylin–eosin staining and the representative staining images of Ki67, E-cadherin, N-cadherin and vimentin of mice tumors in MDA-MB-231 + Ctrl. The bars are as indicated. b The tumors, Hematoxylin–eosin staining and the representative staining images of Ki67, vimentin, N-cadherin and E-cadherin in mice tumors in Co-cluture + Ctrl. The bars are as indicated. c The tumors, Hematoxylin–eosin staining and the representative staining images of Ki67 vimentin, N-cadherin and E-cadherin of mice tumors in Co-culture + TGF-β1. The bars are as indicated. d The results of E-cadherin, N-cadherin and Vimentin expression in three groups. e Hematoxylin–eosin staining of mice lungs in MDA-MB-231 + Ctrl, Co-culture + Ctrl, Co-culture + TGF-β1. The bars are as indicated. f TGF-β1 increased the speeds of tumors growth in vivo when MDA-MB-231 cells co-cultured with MCF-7 cells. (*p < 0.05). g Statistical analysis of tumor weight in different groups. The values indicate the mean ± standard deviation, n = 10/group. All data was showed as mean ± SD, *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001