Fig. 4

Knockdown of FGFR4 promotes ROS-associated HCC cell apoptosis by sorafenib. a–e The effect of FGFR4 knockout on Sora-induced HCC cell apoptosis and ROS generation. FGFR4 knockout MHCC97L cells by CRISPR sgRNA targeting exonic regions (FGFR4 KO) were treated with 4 μM of Sora over a series of time points before analysis. Cell viability was determined by MTS assays (a); Apoptosis was determined by DAPI staining (b) and Western blot of c-PARP (c); ROS generation was determined by DCFH-DA staining (d); and O₂ ^•− generation was determined by electrochemical biosensor (e). In c, expression levels were normalized against actin and reported relative to controls (fold changes shown below each lane). * p < 0.05; ** p < 0.01