Figure 7.

The effects of gene silencing of delta‐like 3 (DLL3) in ECC cell lines. A, Cell viability at 96 h after transfection with siR‐DLL3 (10 nmol/L). B, The protein expression levels of apoptosis‐related genes. The experimental conditions were the same as in (A). C, Results of Hoechst 33342 staining. The number of apoptotic cells was counted and shown as a bar graph. The experimental conditions were the same as in (A). D, E, Apoptosis inhibition effects of Z‐VAD‐FMK (5 μmol/L) in ECC4 and ECC10 cells. Cells were pretreated with Z‐VAD‐FMK and then transfected with siR‐DLL3 #2 (10 nmol/L) for 96 h. The effects on cell viability (D) and the level of cleaved PARP (E). F, G, Spheroid formation at 96 h after transfection of ECC 4 cells with siR‐DLL3 (20 nmol/L) (n = 3). Representative photographs of each sample are shown (F), and the 3D cell viabilities are shown as a bar graph (G). Results are presented as the mean ± SD; * P < 0.05; *** P < 0.001