Fig. 5

Inhibitory peptides repress glycolysis by blocking the interaction between the IMP3 protein and circCDKN2B-AS1 in cervical cancer cells. a Upper: schematic illustration showing the structure and core amino acids of the IMP3 protein that binds to circCDKN2B-AS1. Lower: amino acid sequence of the inhibitory peptide containing the core amino acids of IMP3 (IIP) and the control inhibitory peptide (CTL). b Biotin-labeled peptide pull-down assays showing the interaction of IIP or CTL with circCDKN2B-AS1 in SiHa and CaSki cells. c qRT-PCR following RIP assays showing circCDKN2B-AS1 and the 3’UTR of HK2 mRNA recruited by the IMP3 protein from the lysates of SiHa cells with the addition of IIP or CTL (mean ± SEM, n = 3, unpaired Student’s t-test). d HK2 mRNA expression levels in SiHa and CaSki cells with the addition of IIP or CTL, using qRT-PCR (mean ± SEM, n = 3, unpaired Student’s t-test). e HK2 protein expression levels in SiHa and CaSki cells with the addition of IIP or CTL, using Western blot. f Left: the ECAR in SiHa and CaSki cells with the addition of IIP or CTL using Seahorse XFe assays. Right: quantification of basal glycolysis and compensatory glycolysis (mean ± SEM, n = 6, unpaired Student’s t-test). *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001