Figure 8. STAT3 is involved in RPN2-regulated MMP-9 expression level in HepG2 cells. (A, B) HepG2 cells were transfected with AD-RPN2 or shRNA-RPN2 to modulate the expression of RPN2 expression. Protein expression and phosphorylation of MMP-9 and STAT3 was detected by WB. © HepG2 cells stably expressing RPN2 were treated with AG490 to block the STAT3 signal transduction. Protein expression of MMP-9 and STAT3 were then analyzed by WB. The band of target protein was normalized to the density of action. The quantification was performed independently in a single band. The experiments were performed three times. Data are represented as mean ± SD.