Fig. 5

Downregulation of Prrx1 induces aggressive phenotypes of HCC cells via phosphorylation of STAT3. (a & b) Subcellular localisation of PRRX1 and STAT3 (a) or phosphorylated STAT3 (p-STAT3) (b) and their co-localisation in indicated cells was assessed by confocal microscopy (original magnification, × 2400). c Total lysates from Bel-7404 cells were subjected to immunoprecipitation with STAT3 antibody, followed by western blotting using PRRX1 antibody. d Western blotting was used to detect the expression of STAT3 and p-STAT3 in indicated cells. e Five randomly selected fields in the migration assay were counted under a microscope. Bars represent number of migrated cells. f Effect of STAT3 inhibitor, C188–9, on drug resistance (epirubicin) was evaluated in indicated cells by CCK-8 assay. g Phase-contrast images of sphere-forming assays of indicated cells treated with shPrrx11 and/or C188–9. h Western blot analysis of p-STAT3 and stemness markers in indicated cells. Protein abundance was normalised to β-actin. ** P < 0.01.