Journal: International Journal of Molecular Medicine
Article Title: STOML2 interacts with PHB to activate the MEK/ERK signaling pathway and mediates autophagy-related proteins in the progression of hepatocellular carcinoma
doi: 10.3892/ijmm.2025.5709
Figure Lengend Snippet: STOML2 promotes proliferation, migration, invasion and autophagy, and inhibits apoptosis in HCC cells. (A) STOML2 expression levels in five HCC cell lines and normal hepatocytes were determined using western blotting and RT-qPCR. Representative western blot images and quantitative RT-qPCR data (mean ± SD) from three independent experiments are shown ( **** P<0.0001, one-way ANOVA followed by Tukey's post-hoc tests). (B) Knockdown efficiency in HCCLM3 cells and overexpression efficiency in Huh7 cells were evaluated using western blotting and RT-qPCR. Representative western blot images and quantitative RT-qPCR data (mean ± SD) from three independent experiments are shown ( *** P<0.001, ** P<0.01, comparisons between two groups were analyzed by unpaired Student's t-test, whereas comparisons among three groups were analyzed by one-way ANOVA followed by Tukey's post-hoc test). (C) Cell Counting Kit-8 assay showing the proliferation of STOML2-knockdown HCCLM3 cells, STOML2-overexpressing Huh7 cells and their respective controls. Data are presented as mean ± SD from three independent experiments ( **** P<0.0001, comparisons between two groups were analyzed by unpaired Student's t-test, whereas comparisons among three groups were analyzed by one-way ANOVA followed by Tukey's post-hoc test). (D) Wound healing assay assessing the migratory ability of STOML2-overexpressing or -knockdown HCC cells. Representative images from three independent experiments are shown. (E) Cell cycle distribution analysis of STOML2-knockdown HCCLM3 cells, STOML2-overexpressing Huh7 cells and their respective controls. Representative images from three independent experiments are shown. (F) Flow cytometric analysis of apoptosis rates of STOML2-overexpressing or -knockdown HCC cells along with their respective controls ( *** P<0.001, comparisons between two groups were analyzed by unpaired Student's t-test, whereas comparisons among three groups were analyzed by one-way ANOVA followed by Tukey's post-hoc test). Representative flow cytometry plots and quantitative data (mean ± SD) from three independent experiments are shown. (G) Transwell assay measuring the invasive capacity of HCC cells following STOML2 overexpression or knockdown ( *** P<0.001, ** P<0.01, comparisons between two groups were analyzed by unpaired Student's t-test, whereas comparisons among three groups were analyzed by one-way ANOVA followed by Tukey's post-hoc test). Data are presented as mean ± SD. (H) Western blotting of autophagy markers p62 and Beclin1 in STOML2-overexpressing or -knockdown HCC cells. Representative western blot images from three independent experiments are shown. HCC, hepatocellular carcinoma; RT-qPCR, reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction; Scr, scramble; sh, short hairpin; STOML2, stomatin-like protein 2.
Article Snippet: For MAPK pathway inhibition, Huh7 cells overexpressing STOML2 were pre-treated with sorafenib (20 μ M; cat. no. HY10201; MedChemExpress) for 24 h at 37°C prior to subsequent assays, including western blotting, flow cytometry and functional assays.
Techniques: Migration, Expressing, Western Blot, Quantitative RT-PCR, Knockdown, Over Expression, Cell Counting, Wound Healing Assay, Flow Cytometry, Transwell Assay, Reverse Transcription, Real-time Polymerase Chain Reaction