Signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 promotes the Warburg effect possibly by inducing pyruvate kinase M2 phosphorylation in liver precancerous lesions

Figure 3 Activated signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 promotes malignant transformation and cell proliferation in WB-F344 cells. A-D: Aneuploidy, the soft agar colony formation rate, alpha-fetoprotein expression, and p-signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 expression in transformed WB-F344 cells induced with N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitroso-guanidine (MNNG) + hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) were increased compared with those in control WB-F344 cells and decreased following stattic treatment. E-G: Proliferating cell nuclear antigen expression and the percentage of cells in S phase in transformed WB-F344 cells induced with MNNG + H₂O₂ were higher than those in control WB-F344 cells and decreased following stattic treatment. Data are expressed as the mean ± SEM (^aP < 0.05, ^bP < 0.01). (stattic: 4 μmol/L, 48 h). AFP: Alpha-fetoprotein; STAT3: Signal transducer and activator of transcription 3; MNNG: N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitroso-guanidine; H₂O₂: Hydrogen peroxide; PCNA: Proliferating cell nuclear antigen.