Fig. 2

SPAG5 promotes cell growth in HCC. a PLC8024 and Huh7 cells were transfected with SPAG5 overexpression vectors. QGY-7703 cells were incubated with SPAG5 shRNAs. Stable cell lines were established by G418 screening. The mRNA levels of SPAG5 in were determined by qRT-PCR. b The protein expression of SPAG5 in the stable cell lines was examined by western blot. c The effect of SPAG5 on cell proliferation was determined by foci formation assays. The representative images and the fold change of foci formation were shown. d Colony formation in soft agar was performed to validate the impact of SPAG5 on cell growth. e Cells with SPAG5 overexpression or knockdown were injected into the right flank of null mice for 4 weeks. The tumor volumes were measured every week and indicated by curves. f Tumors were sectioned at day 28. Ki67 staining was conducted to demonstrate the cell proliferation. All *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01