Fig. 2
KLF14 inhibits the growth and proliferation of HCC cells and regulates cellular iron metabolism. A, B Overexpression of KLF14 in HepG2 and Huh7 cells inhibited cell growth and colony formation. Western blotting analysis of KLF14 expression in liver cancer cells. C, D KLF14 knockdown promoted cell growth and colony formation. E Venn diagram of ChIP-seq and cellular iron metabolism related genes showing that 1895 genes related to cellular iron metabolism were found to be potential target genes of KLF14. F Relative cellular LIP content in KLF14 overexpressed cells and KLF14 knockdown cells were measured using a calcein-AM assay at 24 h (up panel) and 36 h (down panel). G The five genes among 1895 genes, which are related to cellular iron metabolism (related score > 50), showed enrichment for KLF14 binding peaks in data of ChIP assay and the presence of the proposed KLF14 binding motif. H Relative mRNA levels of the five genes and the key genes involved in IRPs-IRE system. I Potential binding sites of KLF14 in IRP2 promoter. All the results are presented as means ± SD from three independent experiments. Two-tailed unpaired Student’s T-tests were performed. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01 and ***P < 0.001