Fig. 6

FOXM1–KIF4A axis promotes HCC progression in vivo. a Growth curves of xenograft tumors formed by indicated Huh7 cells in nude mice. Data represent mean ± SD (n = 8). **p < 0.01. b Image of xenograft tumors. c Weight of xenograft tumors. Data represent mean ± SD (n = 8). **p < 0.01. d Downregulation of KIF4A protein in Huh7 FOXM1 + sh-KIF4A compared to Huh7 FOXM1 + sh-Control xenografts, as confirmed by western blotting. e HE staining of tumor tissue samples from indicated groups and detection of FOXM1, KIF4A, and Ki67 protein levels by immunohistochemistry. f Model for FOXM1-KIF4A axis mediated HCC proliferation. FOXM1 transcriptionally activates KIF4A via directly binding to the promoter of KIF4A, promoting mitosis of cell cycle and proliferation of HCC cells. The inhibition of KIF4A is shown to suppress FOXM1-induced HCC proliferation and growth in this study