Fig. 3.
CAFs induce sorafenib resistance in HCC cells by secreting CXCL12. a The results of immunofluorescence showed that the expression of CXCL12 in CAFs in HCC tissues was significantly higher than that in paracancerous tissues (left). Statistical plot of fluorescence intensity of fibroblasts expressing α-SMA and CXCL12 in HCC tissues and paracancerous tissues (right). b ELISA showed that CAFs secreted higher level of CXCL12 than NFs. c, d Colony forming assays detected the sorafenib resistance of HCC cells (HepG2 and Huh7), after treated with the cellular supernatant of CAFs and NFs, sorafenib, and AMD3100. e, f Flow cytometry apoptosis assay detected the sorafenib resistance of HCC cells (HepG2 and Huh7), after treated with the cellular supernatant of CAFs and NFs, sorafenib, and AMD3100. g, h Western blotting was performed to detect the expression of β-actin, and Cleaved Caspase-3 in HCC cells (HepG2 and Huh7), which were treated with the cellular supernatant of CAFs, sorafenib, and AMD3100. The data presented mean ± SEM. *p < 0.01; **p < 0.001; ***p < 0.0001; ****p < 0.00001