Fig. 2

THOC1 promotes HCC cell proliferation and cell cycle progression. a Knockdown or ectopic expression efficiency of THOC1 and the expression of proliferation markers were evaluated via Western blot analysis. b Cell growth was inhibited by THOC1 knockdown in PLC/PRF/5 and Hep3B cells (left panel), whereas cell viability was dramatically increased by the ectopic expression of THOC1 in HepG2 and SK-Hep1 cells (right panel) (Student’s t test; **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001, ****P < 0.0001). c Knockdown of THOC1 inhibited the colony formation in PLC/PRF/5 and Hep3B cells (Student’s t test; **P < 0.05). d Ectopic expression of THOC1 increased the colony formation in HepG2 and SK-Hep1 cells (Student’s t test; **P < 0.05). e Cell cycle assay was conducted after THOC1 knockdown in PLC/PRF/5 and Hep3B cells, where the proportion of different cell cycle phases was shown and statistically analyzed (Student’s t test; *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01). f Cell cycle assay was performed after the ectopic expression of THOC1 in HepG2 and SK-Hep1 cells, where the proportion of cell cycle phases was shown and statistically analyzed (Student’s t test; **P < 0.01)