Fig. 3
circNOX4 induces fibroblast activation and promotes the migration and invasion of NSCLC in vitro. A The proliferation of circNOX4-knockdown CAFs and circNOX4-overexpressing NFs as detected by CCK-8 assays. B Representative photographs of collagen gel contraction by the indicated CAFs and NFs. C The expression of CAF-related genes in sh-NC and sh-circNOX4 CAFs as detected by qRT-PCR. D Effects of circNOX4 on the expression of FAP by western blotting analysis. E Schematic representation showing that fibroblastic conditioned medium was added to NSCLC cells in wound healing assays. F Wound healing assays in A549 and PC9 cells treated with conditioned medium from circNOX4-knockdown CAFs or circNOX4-overexpressing NFs. G Schematic representation showing the establishment of the transwell coculture system. H Transwell coculture assays of invasion of A549 and PC9 cells with circNOX4-knockdown CAFs or circNOX4-overexpressing NFs. Data are expressed as mean ± SD from three independent experiments. Statistical analyses used the Student’s t-test. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001