Fig. 2.

Expression of AMPKα1 maintains tumor cell survival in the absence of glucose. a Immunoblotting of AMPKα1 transfected with lentiviruses expressing different shRNAs in RKO and HCT116 showed that sh-3 had the highest efficiency and sh-2 the median. b RKO and HCT116 cells expressing control-shRNA (sh-NC), sh-2 RNA, or sh-3 RNA are cultured in glucose-free medium for the indicated time points to quantify cell death via a trypan exclusion assay. c Viability of RKO and HCT116 cells was detected by CCK-8 assay in the absence of glucose for 24 h. d Apoptosis of RKO and HCT116 cells cultured in the absence of glucose for 24 h was detected by flow cytometry. RKO (e) and HCT116 (f) cells expressing control-shRNA (sh-NC), sh-2 RNA, or sh-3 RNA were subcutaneously injected into the right armpit of nude mice and tumor volumes were recorded three times per week. Tumor tissues dissected from each group were photographed. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, Student’s t-test