Fig. 6

Blocking the TGF-β1-Smad3/Smad4 signaling pathway inhibited the DEPTOR-induced EMT and invasion. a, b The indicated cells were treated with LY364947 or left untreated for 24 h and then subjected to the transwell assay. Statistical comparisons of the indicated groups were performed (right panel). c The indicated cells were treated with LY364947 or left untreated for 24 h and then subjected to western blotting to detect EMT markers. d HepG2-DEP cells were transfected with siRNA against smad2 for 48 h and then subjected to RT-PCR for detecting the expression of snail and smad2 mRNA. e HepG2-DEP cells were transfected with siRNA against smad3 for 48 h and then subjected to RT-PCR for detecting the expression of snail and smad3 mRNA. f Western blotting was performed to detect the expression of EMT markers after smad3 or smad4 knockdown. The data represent the means ± SEM from three independent experiments. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001