Fig. 3. Metformin inhibited the expression of INHBA in CRC.
a, b qPCR (a) and western blot (b) detecting the mRNA and protein level of INHBA in NCM460 and CRC cells. c, d qPCR (c), and western blot (d) testing the effect of metformin (10 mM, 24 h treatment) on the expression of INHBA. e ELISA measured the secretion of activinA after metformin treatment. f–h qPCR (f), western blot (g), and IHC (h) evaluating the expression change of INHBA in subcutaneous tumors from control and metformin treatment groups. i Representative IHC images of CRC tissues with or without metformin treatment stained with an INHBA antibody (n = 22). Up: Magnification: 50×; Scale bar: 200 µm. Low: Magnification: 200×; Scale bar: 50 µm. The values are shown as the mean ± SD and experiments were independently repeated three times. *P < 0.05, ***P < 0.001. The data in this figure were analyzed by Student’s t test.