Figure 1.

Irradiation increased CD133⁺ subpopulations in HCC cells. (a) Mahlavu cells, subjected to irradiation (1, 5, and 10 Gy), were analyzed using flowcytometric method. (a) Parental Mahlavu cells were found to contain approximately 8.7% CD133⁺ cells, but this subpopulation increased as the dose of irradiation increased that is, 5 Gy to 18.3%. (b) Western blot analysis indicated that CD133⁺ Mahlavu cells were enriched by irradiation and showed an increased expression level of c-Myc (stemness gene) and COX-2 (proinflammatory gene) and Bcl-2 and survivin (prosurvival gene) as compared to their parental counterparts.