Figure 5From: Snail1 induces epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition and tumor initiating stem cell characteristics Snail1 regulates EMT and CSC characteristics in mesenchymal cells. (A) Epithelial cells were treated with Snail1 siRNA for 48 hours and mRNA expression was analyzed for E-cadherin, Zeb1, Zeb2, Bmi-1, Nanog, and CD44 normalized to Gapdh. Bars represent mean ± SEM of triplicates, *p < 0.01. Western blot analysis of Snail1, CD44, Nanog and β-actin, with data representative of two independent experiments. (B) Tumor-sphere formation assay of mesenchymal cells transfected with scrambled or Snail1 siRNA. Cells were cultured in low adherent plates (4 × magnification). (C) Wound assay of mesenchymal cells transfected with either scrambled or Snail1 siRNA. The number of cells migrated towards the wound was calculated. Data presented are mean ± SEM of triplicates, *p < 0.01.Back to article page