Fig. 3

CAFs enhanced the expression of the lncRNA HOTAIR in breast cancer cells to induce EMT. a The expression of seveal metastasis associated LncRNAs treated with CAF-CM was measured by RC-PCR. HOTAIR levels in MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7 cells upon treatment with recombinant TGF-β1, SB or PFD was measured by real-time RT-PCR (b) or FISH (c). Scale bar: 15 μm. d Western blotting indicated that the EZH2 and H3K27me3 expression levels were significantly increased in CAF-CM-treated cells. e The expression levels of the indicated epithelial or mesenchymal markers in MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7 cells were measured by western blotting. f The depletion of HOTAIR decreased the number of invaded cells, as indicated by the Transwell assay. Quantitation of invasive MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cells. For each measurement, ≥ 10 fields of view with ≥ 100 cells were analyzed; *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01