Fig. 3. PCK1 silencing provokes apoptosis activation in pancreatic cancer cells.

Established human pancreatic cancer cell lines (PANC-1 and PATU-8988) (A–F), bearing the PCK1 shRNA (“sh-PCK1-Seq1” or “sh-PCK1-Seq2”) or lentiviral scramble control shRNA (“shC”), were established and cultured for applied time periods. Caspase-PAPR activations were tested by mentioned assays (A–C); Mitochondrial depolarization was tested by JC-1 staining assays (D), with cell apoptosis examined by nuclear TUNEL staining (E), and Annexin V-FACS assays (F), with results quantified. Data were presented as mean ± standard deviation (SD, n = 5). *P < 0.05 vs. “shC” cells. The experiments were repeated five times with similar results obtained. Scale bar = 100 μm (D, E).