Fig. 3

Let-7a1 inhibits the capacity of self-renewal of HCC stem cells. The HCC cells were seeded in ultra-low attachment plates to form the 1st generation of spheres. Then the cell form spheres were reseeded to acquire the 2nd generation of spheres. The sphere forming efficiency of the first generation (a) and the second generation (b) of HCC stem-like cells infected with let-7a1 and Scramble vector, * p < 0.01, with representative images shown in (c). d Let-7a1 inhibits the self-renewal of HCC stem cells group in continuously cultured spheres, showing much stronger inhibition than that of control group in total six generations