Fig. 2

Role of ZFAS1 in the induction of stemness and sorafenib resistance. A Bulk mRNA expression levels of stemness and notch signaling related genes in Huh7 cells with or without ZFAS1 transfection presented as a heatmap. B Representative images of tumour colony of Huh7 cells with or without siRNA transfection. C-D Quantitative analysis of tumour colonies (C) and sphere numbers (D). Data represented as mean ± standard deviation (SEM). **: p < 0.01 (compared to Ctrl). E Representative images of cell growth of Huh7 cells with or without siRNA transfection. Scale bar = 100 μm. F Viability of Huh7 cells with or without siRNA transfection following sorafenib (5 μM and 10 μM) treatment. Data represented as mean ± SEM. *: p < 0.05; **: p < 0.01 (compared to Ctrl). G Representative images of apoptotic percentage of Huh7 cells with or without siRNA knockdown after sorafenib treatment. H Quantitative analysis of G. Data represented as mean ± SEM. *: p < 0.05 (compared to Ctrl)