ADAMTS9-AS1 increased the proliferation of HCC cells in vitro. A, C. CCK-8 and clonogenic assays suggested that in HepG2 and MHCC97-H cells transfected with pcDNA3.1-AS1 groups, upregulated ADAMTS9-AS1 promoted proliferation of HCC cells. B, D. In cells transfected with si1-AS1, and si2-AS1 groups, downregulated ADAMTS9-AS1 inhibited proliferation of HCC cells. Error bars represented SD obtained from three independent experiments and all the data were shown as mean ± SD. CCK-8, Cell Counting Kit-8; ADAMTS9-AS1, ADAMTS9 antisense RNA 1; NC, negative control; si, short interfering RNA; *, P < 0.05; **, P < 0.01, ***, P < 0.001.