Fig. 4.

C. maritimum differentially regulates insulin signalling depending on the degree of tumorigenicity of HCC cells. For gene expression experiments, cells were treated for 24 h with C. maritimum 0.5 mM ethyl acetate extract (CM). The expression of three genes involved in the control of insulin signalling was evaluated by RT q-PCR in four HCC cell lines HepG2 (a), HepaRG (b), Huh7 (c), HLE (d). For Western Blot experiments, cells were treated for 45 min with C. maritimum 0.5 mM ethyl acetate extract (CM). Activation of insulin signalling has been verified by Western Blot by evaluating Akt phosphorylation at Ser473 in HepG2 and Huh7 cells (e). f Graphical summary of the information presented in the Figure. **** p < 0.0001, *** p < 0.001, ** p < 0.01, * p < 0.05, ns = not significant compared with vehicle