Fig. 6.

The effects of NC on the TGF-β-induced EMT and CSCs-like properties of breast cancer cells. MDA-MB-468 and MCF-7cells were treated with 5 ng/ml TGF-β1 with or without 2.5 μM NC for 48 h. a Cells were treated with, and the phenomenon of EMT was observed based on morphological changes of the cells. b The both cells were treated with5 ng/ml TGF-β for 7 d or 10 d. The expressions of EMT and CSCs-related marks were observed by western blotting. β-actin was used as a loading control. c Treatment with NC for 48 h diminished the effects of TGF-β1 on the expression of N-cadherin, Vimentin at the mRNA level in MDA-MB-468 and MCF-7cells, as determined by QT-PCR. d The effects of NC in breast cancer cell migration. The number of migrated cells was quantified by counting the number of cells from 5 random fields. e Treatment with NC for 48 h diminished the effects of TGF-β1 on the expression of EMT and CSCs-related marks at the protein level in both cells, as determined by western blotting