Figure 2. Sgp130 suppresses IL-6 signaling pathway in HepG2 cells.
(a) Lysates of HepG2 cells treated with IL-6 and sgp130 for 48 h were analyzed for global tyrosine phosphorylation at position 705 of STAT3. (b) sgp130 inhibits IL-6 induced transcriptional activation of inflammatory factors in HepG2 cells treated with sgp130 or IL-6 for 48 h (1: control; 2: positive sample; 3: sgp130 treated sample). Relative expression levels of cytokine mRNAs isolated from cells and analyzed by real-time PCR. Data are mean ± SD. n = 3 (Single*, double** and triple*** marked represent statistical significance in p < 0.05, p < 0.01 and p < 0.001, respectively). (c) sgp130 decreases IL-6-induced increase of Ki67 in IL-6 and sgp130 co-treated HepG2 cells for 48 h. The cells were stained with a specific antibody against Ki67 and the treatment followed with HRP-coupled secondary antibody (upper panel); sgp130 suppresses IL-6 activated growth of HepG2 cells which was analyzed by soft agar assay (lower panel). (1 × 103 cells/well).