Fig. 2

Effects of HBwx on tumor-forming abilities in vitro and vivo. a Stable expressions of HBwx and HBx were detected by Western blot in SK-Hep-1 cell lines. b Tumor formation in nude mice. SK-Hep-1-HBx, SK-Hep-1-HBwx and control cells were subcutaneously injected into BALB/c nude mice, and tumor growth was observed and recorded. Representative photographs of the gross neoplasms in nude mice after 22 days. Graphical presentation of the changes of tumor volume in mice after cell inoculation. Data were presented as means ± SD of six samples. Compared with the controls, HBwx significantly promoted tumor growth in nude mice (**P < 0.01), though its effect was less obvious than that of HBx. c Colony-formation assay was performed for the analysis of tumor-forming abilities in vitro. Colonies formed in the plates were photographed. Quantitative analysis of the total colonies in different seeding density and treatments. Data shown as mean ± SD of each group from three independent experiments. Compared with the control, overexpressed HBwx cells showed increased colony formation (**P < 0.01, *P < 0.05), though the increase was not as significant as that of HBx cells