Fig. 1

RPL21 is upregulated in CRC tissues, correlating with tumor invasiveness and patient survival rate. A RPL21 protein expression in human CRC tissues (T) and paired adjacent normal tissues (N) was detected by western blotting. The quantification of the protein level was normalized to that of GAPDH. n = 24, ***p < 0.001, paired Student’s t-test. B The representative images of the RPL21 expression in 142 paraffin-embedded human CRC tissues with adjacent normal colorectal tissues (adjacent 1, adjacent 2, and adjacent 3) detected by IHC staining (scale, 200 μm). C The representative images of RPL21 expression in the invasive front of CRC (tumor 1, tumor 2, and tumor 3) were detected by IHC staining (scale, 500 μm, 100 μm). D The representative images of RPL21 expression in CRC tumor buds (tumor 1, tumor 2, and tumor 3) were detected by IHC staining (scale, 100 μm). The arrowheads indicate the tumor buds. E The correlation between the scores of RPL21 expression in tumor buds and the grades of tumor budding. n = 142, ***p < 0.001, Kendall’s Tau test. F Kaplan–Meier survival analysis of CRC patients with high or low expression of RPL21. n = 413