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. 2020 Apr 27;10(13):5790–5801. doi: 10.7150/thno.44789

Figure 1.

Figure 1

Increased matrix stiffness regulates HCC morphology, proliferation, EMT phenotype shift, and stemness characteristics of HCC cells. (A) Morphology changes of Hep3B and Huh7 cells cultured on gels of different stiffness. (B) Proliferation of Hep3B and Huh7 cells cultured on gels of different stiffness was measured using MTT assay. (C) PCNA and CyclinD1 expression in Hep3B and Huh7 cells on gels of different stiffness were determined by Western blotting. (D) Western blotting of whole-cell lysates showing expression of E-cadherin, N-cadherin, and vimentin in Hep3B and Huh7 cells cultured on different stiffness. (E) Increasing matrix stiffness remarkably upregulated the expression of CD133, EpCAM, and ALDH-1 in two HCC cells. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01.