Fig. 4

HERC2 participated in the immune evasion of HCC cells. A HERC2-deficient Huh7 cells and HERC2-overexpressing HCC-97 h cells were treated with 50 ng/ml IL-6 for 24 h and then subjected to western blot assay for PD-L1 detection. B and C Activated PBMCs were cocultured with Huh7 cells or HERC2-overexpressing HCC-97 h cells at the ratio of 4:1 for 24 h. Apoptosis of HCC cells was detected by flow cytometry assay (B). C IFN-γ levels of CD8⁺ T cells were determined by flow cytometry analysis. D The correlation between HERC2 expression and levels of PD-L1 based on TCGA datasets (n = 369). E The correlation between HERC2 expression and liver immune cell recruitment based on TCGA datasets (n = 369). **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001. Data from one representative experiment of three independent experiments are presented