Fig. 3.

Overexpression of LEF1 promotes chemoresistance of esophageal CSCs. a, b Representative quantification of tumor sphere formation by LEF1-overexpressing cells (a) or LEF1-silenced cells (b). Bars represent the mean ± SD of three independent experiments, *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01. c, d Flow cytometric analysis showed that the percentage of OV6⁺ cells was significantly increased in LV-LEF1 cells and that the standard 4 days of chemotherapy with cis-platinum (2.5 g/ml) augmented the percentage of OV6⁺ subpopulation (c), whereas LEF1-silenced cells exhibited the opposite effect (d). Data are shown as the mean ± SD, *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01. e Representative quantification of the percentage of OV6⁺ cells by LEF1-overexpressing cells (upper panel) or LEF1-silenced cells (lower panel). f Cyclocystokinin-8 assay (CCK8) indicated that LEF1 overexpression enhanced the cell viability of ECA109 and TE1 OV6⁺ cells in the presence of cis-platinum (0.6 g/ml). Data are shown as the mean ± SD, P < 0.01. g, h Increased ability of colony formation was also observed in LV-LEF1 groups compared with LV-GFP groups after treated with cis-platinum (0.6 g/ml) for 14 days. Data are presented as the mean ± SD *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01. All experiments were performed in triplicates