Fig. 4.

STAT3 and TIM4/NF-kB were involved in the IL-6 induced tumor progression. A Western blotting of phosphorylated STAT3 and STAT3 in SMC-7721 and HepG2 cells treated with PBS or IL-6 (10 ng/ml). B Western blotting of NF-kB and TIM4 in SMC-7721 and HepG2 cells treated with PBS or IL-6 (10 ng/ml). C SMC-7721/HepG2 cells were cultured with medium containing IL-6 (10 ng/ml) or not. Then cells were treated with PBS, angoline (20 nM) or JSH-23 (5 nM) and the cell proliferation was detected. D Colony formation rates of SMC-7721 cells in (C). E Immunohistochemical staining of phosphorylated STAT3 in high stage (H-S) and low stage (L-S) tumor tissues from liver cancer patients. The scale bar is 100 μm. F, correlation analysis between IL-6 and p-STAT6 in tumor tissues from liver patients using immunohistochemistry (n = 16, R² = 0.78). G Immunohistochemical staining of NF-kB in high stage (H-S) and low stage (L-S) tumor tissues from liver cancer patients. The scale bar is 100 μm. H correlation analysis between IL-6 and NF-kB in tumor tissues from liver patients using immunohistochemistry (n = 16, R² = 0.78). *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, n.s, no significant difference