Fig. 9.

SWELL1 promotes HCC cell migration and EMT in vitro. (a) Representative images of the wound healing assay performed with SMMC-7721, Huh7, Sk-hep-1, and HCCLM3 cells. The migration of cells was quantified as the percentage of the wound-healed area. (b) Transwell migration assays for SMMC-7721, Huh7, Sk-hep-1, and HCCLM3 cells. The number of migratory cells was quantified. (c) Effects of SWELL1 on the adhesion ability of HCC cells. The cell adhesion ability was assessed using two methods: DAPI staining and the CCK8 method. (d) Morphological changes observed by optical microscopy and cellular F-actin staining observed by fluorescence microscopy. (e) The expression of the EMT markers E-cadherin, N-cadherin, and Vimentin examined by qRT-PCR. *P < .05, **P < .01. Data are represented as the mean ± SD of three independent experiments and compared using Student's t-test (Sk-hep-1 and HCCLM3 cells), or one-way ANOVA followed by a Dunnett t-test (SMMC-7721 and Huh7 cells).