Fig. 5.

Upregulation of BMI1 reverses the effect of ALKBH2 knockdown on the proliferation and invasion of CRC cells. a CCK8 assay was performed to assess cell proliferation in Caco-2 and LOVO cells transfected with sh-ALKBH2, sh-NC, or overexpression of BMI1, **P < 0.01 vs. sh-NC. Histograms show that cell proliferation is decreased in sh-ALKBH2 treatment group, which is reversed by BMI1 overexpression. b Transwell assay was performed to detect cell invasion in Caco-2 and LOVO cells transfected with sh-ALKBH2, sh-NC, or overexpression of BMI1, **P < 0.01 vs. sh-NC. Cell invasion decreases in sh-ALKBH2 group, whereas BMI1 overexpression reverses the effect of sh-ALKBH2. C. Expression changes in EMT-related signaling molecules in cells transfected with sh-ALKBH2, sh-NC, or overexpression of BMI1, **P < 0.01 vs. sh-NC. Upregulation of BMI1 increases N-cadherin expression and reduces E-cadherin level