Research Paper Volume 13, Issue 1 pp 537—554

Figure 4. SNRPB maintains HCC cell stemness. (A) Expression correlation analysis indicating the genes correlated with SNRPB in HCC based on TCGA database. (B) The expression levels of genes associated with HCC stemness (AFP, CD133 and NANOG) and markers of differentiated hepatocytes (ALB, APOA1 and APOE) in Hep3B cells transfected with scramble vector, shSNRPB or SNRPB-rescue were tested by qRT-PCR. (C) Western blotting analysis indicates the expression levels of proteins associated with HCC stemness in 7701 cells transfected with vector and SNRPB (left panel) and Hep3B cells transfected with scramble vector, shSNRPB or SNRPB-rescue (right panel). β-Actin served as the loading control. (D–F) Stem cell sphere formation assays were performed on 7701 cells transfected with vector and SNRPB (D), 7402 cells transfected with scramble and shSNRPB (E) and Hep3B cells with scramble vector, shSNRPB or SNRPB-rescue (F). In all panels, *P < 0.05.