Fig. 2

Inhibition of EZH2 impairs growth and induces senescence of HCC cells both in vitro and in vivo. (A) Representative images of colony formation and SA-β-gal staining of cells. (B) mRNA levels of EZH2 and senescence markers p15, p16, and p21 in BEL7404 and SMMC7721 cells. (C) Representative images of tumors in nude mice subcutaneously inoculated with BEL7404 cells stably expressing pLKO.1-shEZH2s and pLKO.1-control (seven mice in each group). (D and E) The tumor volume (D) and weight (E) in nude mice subcutaneously inoculated with BEL7404 cells stably expressing pLKO.1-shEZH2s and pLKO.1-control. (F) Representative images of H&E, Ki67, TOP2A, and SA-β-gal staining of tumor tissues. (G) The cell rate of Ki67-positive cells in tumors. (H) The cell rate of TOP2A-positive cells in tumors. (I) The cell rate of SA-β-gal-positive cells in tumors. (J) mRNA levels of EZH2, TOP2A, and senescence markers p15, p16, and p21 in tumors in nude mice subcutaneously inoculated with BEL7404 cells. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001