Fig. 2

Matrix stiffness mediates cancer cells proliferation through integrin β1. A The relative gene expression of integrin β1, β2, β3, β4, β5, β6, β7, β8 in SMMC-7721 and HepG2 cells cultured in tunable PA hydrogels with a stiffness of 12 kPa (LS) or 16 kPa (HS), measured by q-PCR. B The protein expression level of integrin β1 in SMMC-7721 and HpeG2 cells cultured in matrix stiffness with 12 kPa (LS) or 16 kPa (HS), measured by western blot. C The relative integrin β1 expression level in SMMC-7721 and HepG2 cells with integrin β1silenced by siRNA or not, measured by q-PCR. D The relative cells proliferation of SMMC-7721 and HepG2 cells with integrin β1 silenced by siRNA1, siRNA2 or not, cultured in in tunable PA hydrogels with a stiffness of 16 kPa. E The relative colony number of SMMC-7721 and HepG2 cells pre-cultured in in tunable PA hydrogels with a stiffness of 16 kPa, with integrin β1 silenced by siRNA1, siRNA2 or not. F The relative migrative cells number of SMMC-7721 and HepG2 cells pre-cultured in in tunable PA hydrogels with a stiffness of 16 kPa, with integrin β1 silenced by siRNA1, siRNA2 or not. G The relative integrin β1 expression of tumor tissues with high matrix stiffness (HS) or low matrix stiffness (LS), from liver cancer patients, measured by real-time PCR. Data represent mean ± SD, *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01 or as indicated