Fig. 6

Cx32 exerts anti-apoptotic effects by activating EGFR signaling pathway. a. In 30 HCC specimens, the expression of EGFR was significantly correlated with the expression of Cx32 (r = 0.662, P < 0.01). b. The expression level of EGFR was significantly higher in HepG2 cells than in SMMC-7721 cells. c and d. The effects of Cx32 knockdown or overexpression on the EGFR signaling pathway in HepG2 cells and SMMC-7721 cells were determined by western blot analysis (n = 3, respectively). ^**, P < 0.01 versus HepG2 NC (c) or SMMC-7721 Vector (d). e. In rescue experiments, cotransfection of siRNA-Cx32 and EGFR-expression vectors into HepG2 cells reversed the pro-apoptotic effects of Cx32 knockdown. ^**, P < 0.01; ^##, P < 0.01. f. In rescue experiments, cotransfection of Cx32 expression vectors and siRNA-EGFR into SMMC-7721 cells reversed the anti-apoptotic effects of Cx32 overexpression. ^**, P < 0.01; ^##, P < 0.01