Fig. 3

Expression of CCN2 in HCC is related to malignant phenotypes. a Endogenous CCN2 was silenced in MHCC97H cells using specific vshRNA. CCN2-Sh1 was validated as yielding the most efficient interference of CCN2 by western blot and ELISA. b Expression of LRP6, p-LRP6, E-cadherin, CD90, and ALDH, was determined following downregulation of CCN2 in MHCC97H cells by shRNA CCN2-Sh1 and gene rescue of CCN2. c Invasiveness, migration, adherent colony formation, and the anoikis ability were assessed among MHCC97H–Mock, MHCC97H-shRNA-CCN2 and CCN2 rescued cells. d Subcutaneous tumor growth capacity was determined for xenografts with MHCC97H–CCN2-sh1 cells or MHCC97H–Mock cells in nude mouse models