Fig. 4

TGF-β1 affects cancer cell stemness in SW982 cells. A Morphological observations of sphere formation in SW982 cells following treatment with 0, 10, or 20 ng/mL rhTGF-β1 after 36 h. The number of cells, volume, and sphere-forming rates were calculated. B Flow cytometry was used to detect the expression of the CSC surface marker, CD133, on sphere cells of SW982 following rhTGF-β1 (0, 10 or 20 ng/mL treatment for 36 h). C Morphological observation of sphere formation in SW982 cells following treatment with 0, 20, or 40 μM SB431542 after 36 h. The number of cells, volume, and sphere-forming rates were calculated. D Flow cytometry was used to detect the expression of the CSC surface marker, CD133, on spheres of SW982 cells following SB431542 (0, 20 or 40 μM) treatment for 36 h. All experiments were repeated at least three times. Error bars represent the means ± SD. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001, ****P < 0.0001