Figure 5. Self-association of CD147 mediated by Cu²⁺ up-regulates MMP-2 and MMP-14 expression.

(A, B) qRT-PCR analysis of MMP-2 (A) and MMP-14 (B) in SMMC-7721, K7721, K7721-WT and K7721-3HA cells with or without Cu²⁺ treatment (30 μM for MMP-2 detection and 20 μM for MMP-14 detection, n = 3, mean ± SEM, t-test). (C, D) Immublot analysis of the p-Akt levels in SMMC-7721, K7721 cells (C) and in K7721-WT, K7721-3HA cells (D) with or without 10 μM Cu²⁺ treatment. (E) Gelatin zymogrphy analysis of MMP-2 secretion from fibroblasts (fb) co-cultured with K7721-WT and K7721-3HA cells treated with different concentrations of Cu²⁺ (n = 3, mean ± SEM, one way ANOVA). Gel images in panel C and D are representative of at least two technical replicates.