Figure 3.

ZFAS1 is involved in lipid metabolism in CRC cells

(A) Heatmap of the differentially expressed genes that were analyzed by next-generation sequencing in ZFAS1-downregulated SW480 cells and control cells. (B) KEGG pathway and Gene Ontology analysis of the differentially expressed genes presented by −Log 10(p value). Red lines underline cholesterol biosynthetic processes and phospholipid catabolic processes. (C) GSEA was performed to analyze the enrichment of differentially expressed genes. (D) qRT-PCR and western blot analysis of SREBP1, SCD1, and FASN expression levels in ZFAS1 siRNAs and negative control siRNA-transfected SW480 and RKO cells. (E–G) The cellular levels of cholesterol, phospholipids and triglycerides were examined with corresponding kits in SW480 and RKO cell lines after transfection with si-ZFAS1 or si-NC. ∗p < 0.05; ∗∗p < 0.01.