Figure 4. Vimentin is essential for OPN-induced EMT in HCC.
(A) EMT-related markers were detected in MHCC-97L-OPN and HepG2-OPN cells transfected with shVimentin or scrambled shRNA. (B) Expression of Axl were determined in MHCC-97L and HepG2 cells with up-regulation of OPN (upper) or HCC-LM3 and MHCC-97H cells with OPN knockdown (lower). (C) The in vitro invaded cell numbers were analyzed in MHCC-97L and HepG2 cells with stable overexpression of OPN transfected with shVimentin or scrambled shRNA. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01. (D) The tumor volumes derived from HepG2-OPN cell lines stably transfected with shVimentin or scrambled shRNA was measured in vivo for 6 weeks. (E) Serial sections from mouse lungs showed the metastatic ability of HepG2-OPN cell lines stably expressing different levels of vimentin (Bar = 50 μm). (F) Immunohistochemical staining for the expressions of EMT-related markers in subcutaneous xenografts tumor tissues from nude mice models. (Magnification × 400. Bar = 50 μm).