Fig. 4

The effects of VPA and metformin in AKT and TGF-β induced EMT pathways in RCC cells. a 786-O cells and ACHN cells were cultured with VPA 1 mM (VPA), metformin 10 mM (Met) or a combination (V + M) for 48 h. The proteins were analysed by western blot and quantified by Image J. *P < 0.05 vs control group, ^#P < 0.05 vs metformin group. b 786-O cells and ACHN cells were cultured with VPA, Met or a combination (V + M) for 48 h. The EMT markers and stem-like marker were analysed by western blot and quantified by Image J. *P < 0.05 vs control group, ^#P < 0.05 vs metformin group. c After incubated with TGF-β (2 ng/ml) for 0, 15, 45 mins, pSMAD3 and E-cadherin in 786-O cells were analysed by western blot. Bands were quantified by Image J. *P < 0.05 vs control group, ^#P < 0.05 vs metformin group