Figure 3

Exposure to oxaliplatin in vitro induced epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in MHCC97L and HepG2 cells. A) Tumor cells surviving oxaliplatin treatment were morphologically distinct from the typical epithelial appearance of parental MHCC97L and HepG2 cells, demonstrating a spindle shape with less cell-cell adhesion and increased formation of pseudopodia. B) MTT assay revealed a reduced proliferation in MHCC97L-Oxa and HepG2-Oxa cells compared with the respective parental cells. C) Western blot analysis showed molecular changes consistent with EMT in MHCC97L-Oxa and HepG2-Oxa cells (e.g., downregulation of E-cadherin and upregulation of N-cadherin, vimentin, and transcription factor Snail). GAPDH was used as an internal control. D) Reduced E-cadherin expression and increased expression of N-cadherin, and vimentin in MHCC97L-Oxa and HepG2-Oxa cells were also demonstrated by immunofluorescence.