Figure 4.

Oct4 downregulation induces glioma spheroids' differentiation and abrogates the effect of DCA on cell death. (a and b) The expression of PKM2 mRNA and of selected target genes of Oct4 was measured in glioma spheroids treated with either an efficient shRNA (sh-28) or an inefficient shRNA (sh-48). (c) The expression of the indicated markers was assessed using flow cytometry in glioma spheroids treated either with sh-scr or with an efficient shRNA directed against Oct4 (shRNA28). The graphs shown are representative of three independent experiments and the mean±S.D. percentage of positive cells is indicated. (d) Pyruvate kinase activity was measured in control and ShRNA Oct4-treated glioma spheroids in control and in DCA-treated (1 mM, 48 h) rat glioma spheroids (*P<0.05, **P<0.01)