Fig. 2

Over-expression of PTTG3P accelerates HCC cell growth in vitro and in vivo. (a) Knockdown of endogenous PTTG3P in specific shRNA transduced HepG2 and Hep3B cells. U6 was used as a housekeeping gene for qRT-PCR. (b) HepG2 and Hep3B cells were infected with lentivirus carrying the PTTG3P gene. The level of PTTG3P was significantly increased in HepG2 and Hep3B cells over-expressing PTTG3P when compared with control cells. U6 was used as a housekeeping gene for qRT-PCR. (c) After knockdown of PTTG3P in HepG2 and Hep3B cells, the cell viability was assessed by CCK-8 assays daily for 3 days. (d) Ectopic expression of PTTG3P promotes cell growth as determined by CCK-8 assays. (e) The effects of PTTG3P on cellular survival were assessed by colony formation assays. Colonies are shown in purple post staining with crystal violet (left). (f) Effects of PTTG3P over-expression on tumorigenesis in vivo. Representative images of tumors formed in nude mice injected subcutaneously with PTTG3P–silencing HepG2 cells were shown. The tumor mass were measured. The tumor volume was periodically tested for each mouse and tumor growth curve was plotted. (g) Effects of blocked PTTG3P expression on tumorigenesis in vivo. Red arrows indicate HCC tumors. Error bars represent mean ± SD from 3 independent experiments. *, P < 0.05