Fig. 1.

C/EBPβ controls gastric cancer cell proliferation. a Stable knockdown (KO) of C/EBPβ in MKN74 cell line evaluated by protein blotting. b Cell proliferation was determined by BrdU analysis. Cells were labeled with BrdU and incorporation was determined by flow cytometry (FACS) and plotted against 7-AAD-positive cells, as a measure of DNA content. c Expression of the gastric differentiation marker TFF1 was assessed on the stably transfected cells. Expression was increased in MKN74. d Equal amounts of control and stable C/EBPβ KO MKN74 cells were injected into nude mice and tumor volume and weight was assessed at different time points. Tumors originated from C/EBPβ KO cells were smaller than tumors in the controls. e Ki67 staining revealed reduction of proliferation in the KO-derived tumors. All bar graphs represent the result of at least three independent measurements; asterisk indicates p < 0.05