Fig. 2

The mRNA levels of stem cell markers in tumorspheres are increased by RIG-I KD. RIG-I knocked-down and control SMMC-7721 and Bel-7402 cell lines were grown in 6-well ultra-low attachment culture plates to form spheres for 10 days. Expression of stem cell marker genes was determined by real-time PCR. The level of each gene mRNA was normalized against GAPDH mRNA level and expressed as a ratio to the value of NC spheres. The values are presented as means ± SD (n = 3). *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01 and ***P < 0.001 vs. NCsh spheres