Figure 4.

Autocrine hGH stimulates mesenchymal transition and results in increased cell motility and acquisition of an invasive phenotype in human endometrial carcinoma cells. A, The morphology of RL95-2-vector and RL95-2-hGH cells cultured in 10% FBS medium on plastic was examined by bright-field microscopy under ×400 magnification. B, Real-time PCR analysis of the effect of autocrine hGH expression on mRNA levels of several key markers involved in EMT. Results are represented as a fold change in mRNA levels in RL95-2-hGH cells in comparison with RL95-2-vector cells. C, Wound-healing assay. Wounded areas were examined under ×100 magnification. D and E, The effect of autocrine hGH on RL95-2 cell migration (D) and invasion (E) was determined by Transwell chamber assay as described in Materials and Methods. **, P < 0.001.