Mechanisms of cell growth and migration recovery in Hep3B cells. a Recovery of cells pre-treated with regorafenib 5 μM for 72 h. Phospho-JNK (pJNK) and pp38 levels were increased during reversibility (T1–T4), as were pMKK4 and pSTAT3 (Ser727 and Tyr705) levels, which are upstream and downstream of JNK, respectively. b To test the significance of pJNK changes, SP600125 (JNK inhibitor) 20 μM was used during reversibility. The inhibition of the induced increase in pJNK, pp38, and pSTAT3 (Ser727 and Tyr705) kinase levels (T1–T3) was observed. c, d Cell growth (C) and migration (D) during recovery (T1–T3). R− and R + represent the cells without and with regorafenib treatment (5 μM), respectively. Sp− and Sp + represent cells without or with JNK inhibitor treatment (20 μM), respectively. *P< 0.05, **P< 0.001, ***P< 0.0001