Fig. 3

Promotion of malignant behavior of HCC cells by exosomes is dependent on the degree of circ_002136 enrichment. A Expression of circ_002136 in Huh7 and HA22T cells exposed to exosomes was assessed by qRT-PCR, separately. B qRT-PCR was employed to measure the levels of circ_002136 in HCC samples (n = 35) and paired para-cancer normal samples (n = 35). (Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase (TdT)-mediated dUTP nick-end labeling) The levels of circ_002136 were lower in stage I-II HCC tissues than in stage III-IV specimens. D Survival curves of HCC patients in the circ_002136 high expression group and circ_002136 low expression group were conducted to assess prognostic significance. E qRT-PCR was subjected to detect differences in circ_002136 expression in diverse cell lines (THLE-3, Huh7, HA22T). F Compared with si-NC, qRT-PCR was applied to evaluate the circ_002136 levels in Huh7 and HA22T cells transfected with si-circ_002136 1# and si-circ_002136 2#. (G-J) Changes in cell viability, apoptotic capacity, migration and invasion capacities of Huh7 and HA22T cells treated with Exo, Exo + si-NC, Exo + si-circ_002136 were characterized by CCK-8 (G), flow cytometry (H), Transwell (I), and TUNEL staining (J) respectively. Scale bar, 50 μm. ** P < 0.01, *** P < 0.001, ^## P < 0.01,^### P < 0.001. ** P < 0.01 indicates compared with si-NC group; *** P < 0.001 indicates compared with control group, adjacent tissue group, stage I-II group, THLE-3 cell group, si-NC group; ^## P < 0.01 and ^### P < 0.001 indicate compared with Exo + si-NC group