Figure 3
Effect of ATF3 down-regulation in vitro. Human colon cancer cells (HCT116) were stably transfected with either an ATF3-shRNA, or Luc-shRNA (control) vector, for elucidating the functional role of AFT3. A) Western blot analysis showed a constitutive, hypoxia-inducible (1% O2 or DFX), and Hsp90-inhibitor (17-DMAG)-mediated ATF3 expression, which was substantially diminished after transfection with the ATF3-shRNA plasmid. B) Stable transfection with the ATF3-shRNA plasmid lowered ATF3 mRNA in HCT116 cells and abrogated the Hsp90 inhibitor-mediated induction of ATF3. C) Down-regulation of ATF3 significantly increased the pro-migration properties of HCT116 cells (*P < 0.05). Bars: mean ± SEM