Fig. 5

HK2 promotes cell proliferation, invasion and migration in vitro and tumor growth in vivo. (a) The protein levels of HK2 in GBC cells after knockdown by si-HK2. (b-e) Knockdown of HK2 significantly decreased cell proliferation compared with si-ctrl cells by proliferation assays. (f) Formation of spheres from GBC cells transfected with si-HK2 accessed by three-dimensional cell culture (magnification, × 200, scale bar, 50 μm). (g-i) HK2 suppression impaired GBC cell invasion and migration, as measured by transwell assay (magnification, × 100). Scale bar, 100 μm and wound healing assays. (j-k) Glucose consumption and lactate production were significantly decreased after HK2 knockdown. (l-m) Tumor volume and weight in the lenti-sh-HK2 group were significantly lower than those in the lenti-sh-NC group. (n) Images of tumor formation were performed by a live imaging system detecting the luciferase signal. (o) The luciferase activity in the lenti-sh-HK2 group was lower than that in the lenti-sh-NC group. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001. Error bars indicate mean ± SD