Fig. 2

Ajuba depletion induces β-catenin translocation and Cyclin D1 expression in HCC cell lines. a Immunoblotting with specific antibodies against Ajuba, E-cadherin, β-catenin, Cyclin D1, YAP, TAZ and CYR61 in Ajuba-depleted BEL7402 and HepG2 cells. GAPDH was used as a loading control. The ratios of expression E-Cadherin to their corresponding GAPDH are represented. b Ajuba-depleted HCC cells were fixed for immunofluorescence and stained for β-catenin protein (green) and DAPI (blue). Representative merged images are also shown for fluorescence signals. Scale bar = 25 μm. c Correlation of Ajuba expression with OS in HCC. Low expression of Ajuba was associated with worse OS compared to high expression of Ajuba. Kaplan-Meier curves and log-rank test were used to evaluate OS. P < 0.05 was considered significant. d, e Representative images and quantification of migration and invasion of Ajuba-depleted (d) or Ajuba-overexpressing (e) HCC cells. Scale bar = 200 μm. HCC, hepatocellular carcinoma. f Expression in response to the overexpression of constructs of Ajuba-Myc was examined by IB, the ratios of expression Ajuba to their corresponding GAPDH are represented. Data are presented as Mean ± SEM from three independent experiments (*p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001)