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. 2014 Jun 19;9(6):e100405. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0100405

Figure 1. EGF and FGF2 have opposite effects on STAT3 phosphorylation in hNSCs.

Figure 1

(A) Lysates from neurospheres as well as hNSCs primed with either EGF (ELL) or FGF2 (FHL) for 24 hrs were analyzed by immunoblotting using antibodies against phosphorylated STAT3-Tyr705 (pY705) or STAT3-Ser727 (pS727). The blots were stripped and re-probed for total STAT3 (tSTAT3) and GAPDH (loading control). Densitometric analysis was performed and ratios of phosphorylated STAT3 to total STAT3 (pSTAT3/tSTAT3) are graphically represented as Mean ± SEM (n = 3). *p<0.05 and ***p<0.001 by One-way ANOVA with Tukey post-hoc test. pSTAT3-Y705 is increased in EGF-primed cells, but reduced in FGF2-primed cells when compared to unprimed neurospheres. pSTAT3-S727 levels, however, remain unchanged after either priming. Representative phase contrast images of primary culture hNSCs are shown as neurospheres (B), one day after ELL- (C) or FHL-priming (D). Scale bars, 20 µm. hNSCs: human neural stem cells; ELL: EGF plus LIF and laminin; FHL: FGF2 plus heparin and laminin.