Figure 1.

EGCG induces AFP aggregation in HepG₂ cells. (a) MTT assay of HepG₂ cells after 0–150 μM EGCG treatment (with FBS) for 24, 48, and 72 h. *P<0.05 (t=2.72 for 24 h, t=2.83 for 48 h) and **P<0.01 (t=5.30 for 72 h), the treated groups were compared with an untreated control (considered to be 100% viable). The data are presented as mean±S.D. derived from three independent experiments. (b) Western blot assay of intracellular and extracellular AFP. HepG₂ cells were treated in the absence or presence of 25 and 50 μM EGCG for 24 h. (c) HepG₂ cells were incubated with or without 50 μM EGCG for 0–6 h, and intracellular and extracellular protein were subjected for western blotting analysis. (d) HepG₂ cells were treated with 0, 25, and 50 μM EGCG for 24 h, respectively, and stained with AFP-specific primary antibody and CY3-conjugated secondary antibody. Yellow arrows: aggregated AFP protein (× 40)