Fig 1. Effect of DKK1 on the viability rate and on the AFP protein and mRNA expression levels in hepatocellular carcinoma cell lines.

HepG2/C3A and PLC/PRF/5 cells were seeded at a density of 10⁴ cells/well. The viability rates of HepG2/C3A and PLC/PRF/5 obtained after 24 h, 48 h or 72 h of DKK1 exposure were calculated from the absorbance values (a, b, c). Experiments were performed on 5 batches of each cell line. (d) Representative photomicrographs showing the proliferation of HepG2/C3A and PLC/PRF/5 after DKK1 treatment. (e) mRNA expression levels of AFP were measured by qPCR in HepG2/C3A and PLC/PRF/5 cells after treatment with 150 ng/ml and 200 ng/ml recombinant DKK1, respectively. AFP concentration in the cell culture supernatant of HepG2/C3A and PLC/PRF/5 cells treated with different concentrations of DKK1 for 24 h (f), 48 h (g) or 72 h (h), as measured by sandwich ELISA. Data are expressed as the mean ± SD. * p <0.05, ** p <0.01, *** p <0.001, as indicated.