To confirm the changed activity of TGF-β activation, staining for phospho-SMAD2 was performed (Fig. 6): The proportion of phospho-SMAD2-positive tumor cell nuclei was significantly higher in the PaCa 5061 control group compared with the ITGAV KD group (P = 0.03, Fig. 6b). This evidence concerns the gene ITGAV and neoplasm.