Fig 2: Fibronectin cleavage is enhanced in PC and can be reduced by MMP2/9 inhibition: (A) Protein was isolated from patient-derived peritoneum (n = 3) with and without PC and subjected to immunoblotting. The signal for fibronectin and cleaved fibronectin was normalised to actin, and the ratio of cleaved vs. intact fibronectin was calculated. Fibronectin cleavage was enhanced in tissues with PC compared with healthy peritoneum (uncropped WB figures Figure S3A). (B) HT29 or SKOV3 cells were seeded on patient-derived peritoneum and simultaneously treated with MMP-inhibitors (250 µM each). After 48 h, protein was isolated from the whole tissue and subjected to immunoblotting. The signal for fibronectin and cleaved fibronectin was normalised to actin, and the ratio of cleaved vs. intact fibronectin was calculated. Fibronectin cleavage was inhibited by batimastat or MMP2/9-inhibitor III treatment in SKOV3 but not HT29 cells. Mean and SE of at least three independent experiments (uncropped WB figures Figure S3B).

Fig 3: MMP2/9-inhibitors reduce colonisation of CRC cells seeded on the peritoneum: GFP-pos. HT29 and Colo205 cells were seeded on patient-derived peritoneum and simultaneously treated with MMP-inhibitors. After 24 h, cells were released from the peritoneum via collagenase digestion and counted using a Neubauer chamber; Mean and SE of at least three independent experiments; untreated control normalised to 100%; two-sided, unpaired t-test ** p < 0.01, *** p < 0.001.

Fig 4: Defective CD147 glycosylation improved profibrotic effects of CD147 in mouse hearts after transverse aortic constriction (TAC). (a) Representative images of heart sections from the different groups stained with Masson's trichrome. (b) Representative images of heart sections stained with PSR. (c) Quantification of the percentage of the left ventricular fibrotic area (n = 6 mice/group with 4–6 visual fields per mouse). (d) Representative western blot analysis of collagen-3 (COL-3) and α-SMA in cardiac tissue from the indicated groups (n = 3). (e) Real-time polymerase chain reaction analysis of collagen-1, collagen-3, Ctgf, and Mmp2 mRNA expression levels in the indicated groups (n = 5–6). ∗P < 0.05 vs. the sham group; ∗∗P < 0.01 vs. the sham group; ∗∗∗P < 0.001 vs. the sham group; ∗∗∗∗P < 0.0001 vs. the sham group; #P < 0.05 vs. the vehicle group; ##P < 0.01 vs. the vehicle group; ###P < 0.001 vs. the vehicle group; ####P < 0.0001 vs. the vehicle group; ✟P < 0.05 vs. the OE group; ✟✟P < 0.01 vs. the OE group, ✟✟✟P < 0.001 vs. the OE group. PSR: picrosirius red; COL-3: collagen-3; α-SMA: α-smooth muscle actin; CTGF: connective tissue growth factor; MMP2: matrix metalloproteinase 2.

Fig 5: The expression of proteins relevant to Wnt signaling pathway in lung cancer cells after NOVA1 knockdown. Western blotting analysis for NOVA1, MMP-2, MMP-7, Cyclin D1, Cyclin B, β-catenin and E-cadherin in A549 and H1299 cells after transfecting with or without siNOVA1, GAPDH served as an internal control