Fig. 2

Transient expression of miR-96 and miR-183 inhibits colony and tumor sphere formation in NPC cells. The effects of transient overexpression of miR-96 and mi-183 on NPC cell growth were examined. a Colony formation assay of C666-1 cells with miR-96 and miR-183 overexpression. The numbers of colonies formed by C666-1 cells transfected with miR-96 and miR-183 were obviously lower than those of the negative control (n = 3, P = 0.08). b Tumor sphere formation in C666-1 cells expressing miR-96 and miR-183 was significantly inhibited when compared to that of the negative control (n = 3, **P < 0.01). Representative photos of tumor spheres are shown in the right panel (magnification × 100). c No change in tumor sphere formation in the C666-1 cells co-transfected with miR-96 or miR-183 and the corresponding anti-miR inhibitors was observed when compared to negative controls (n = 3, all P > 0.05). Representative photos of tumor spheres are shown in the right panel (magnification × 100). d Tumor cells expressing OCT4, NANOG, CD44, SOX2, and BMI1 were quantified by flow cytometry analysis. The histogram shows the percentage of cells expressing these proteins in C666-1 cells transfected with miR-96 and miR-183 and that of the negative control. No significant changes in OCT4, NANOG, CD44, SOX2, and BMI1 expression were observed in the cells transfected with miR-96 and miR-183 (n = 3, all P > 0.05). Student’s t-test was used to determine statistical significance between the two groups