Fig 1: The up-regulation of circPDLIM5 is highly associated with PCa lymphatic metastasis. A qRT-PCR analysis of circPDLIM5 expression in PCa patients (n = 327) according to the LN status. B qRT-PCR analysis for the expression level of circPDLIM5 in the metastatic lymph nodes and paired primary PCa tissues (n = 62). C Representative images for the circPDLIM5 expression in LN(+) tissues (n = 62) and LN(-) tissues (n = 265) via FISH. Scale bars: 50 μm. D The percentages of circPDLIM5 expression in PCa tissues (with or without LN metastasis) and normal adjacent tissues (NAT). E Representative images showing circPDLIM5 expression in PCa tissues (with or without LN metastasis) and NAT by in situ hybridization (n = 327). Scale bars: 50 μm. The black rectangle inset is a magnification of the red rectanglearea. F Representative images of ISH and IHC showing the expression of circPDLIM5, LYVE-1 and VEGF-C in PCa tissues (n = 327). The black rectangle inset is a magnification of the red rectanglearea.The Pearson correlation analysis of circPDLIM5 and LYVE-1 (G), circPDLIM5 and VEGF-C (H) displayed that circPDLIM5 was positively correlated with lymphatic vessel density, but no correlation was observed between circPDLIM5 and VEGF-C (n = 327). **P < 0.01;***P < 0.001. Statistical significance was assessed using nonparametric Mann–Whitney U test (A and B), x.2 test (D)