Fig. 4

TROY promotes HCC migration, invasion and metastasis via EMT. (A, B) Representative images of transwell migration and matrigel invasion assays (upper) and their summaries (lower) in 8024 or Hep3B cells transfected with vec or TROY isoforms (A), as well as in Huh7 cells transfected with shNTC or TROY shRNAs (B). Scale bar = 200 μm. (C, D) Representative images of lungs (C) derived from nude mice after tail vein injection of Huh7 cells transfected with shNTC or TROY shRNAs and 8024 cells transfected with vec or TROY isoforms and representative H&E staining images (D) of the corresponding lung sections. Scale bar = 100 μm. The number of metastatic nodules on the surface (indicated by black arrows) is summarized in the bar charts (n = 4). (E) Representative immunofluorescence images of E-cadherin and vimentin in HepG2 transduced with shNTC or TROY shRNAs. Scale bar = 100 μm. (F) Western blotting of E-cadherin, N-cadherin, and vimentin in HCC cells transfected with vec and isoforms, or shNTC and shRNAs. β-Actin was used as a loading control. Statistical significances: *, P < 0.05; **, P < 0.01; ***, P < 0.001