N6-methyladenosine-modified long non-coding RNA KIF9-AS1 promotes stemness and sorafenib resistance in hepatocellular carcinoma by upregulating SHOX2 expression

Figure 6 The long noncoding RNA KIF9-AS1 increases the stemness and sorafenib resistance of hepatocellular carcinoma cells through short stature homeobox 2. Huh-7 cells were transfected with sh-NC, sh-KIF9-AS1, sh-KIF9-AS1 + OE-NC or sh-KIF9-AS1 + OE-short stature homeobox 2. A: Short stature homeobox 2 (SHOX2) protein expression was quantified via western blotting; B: Cell viability was assessed via a Cell Counting Kit-8 assay; C: The sphere formation ability of Huh-7 cells was examined; D: The protein levels of the stemness markers CD44, CD133 and epithelial cell adhesion molecule in Huh-7 cells were evaluated via western blotting. Huh-7/R cells were transfected with sh-NC, sh-KIF9-AS1, sh-KIF9-AS1 + OE-NC or sh-KIF9-AS1 + OE-SHOX2; E: SHOX2 expression was measured via western blotting; F: The IC₅₀ values were determined via a Cell Counting Kit-8 assay; G: A colony formation assay was performed to evaluate cell proliferation; H: A flow cytometry assay was conducted to detect cell apoptosis. ^aP < 0.05, ^bP < 0.01. Each experiment was repeated three times. SHOX2: Short stature homeobox 2; EpCAM: Epithelial cell adhesion molecule.