miR-3682-3p directly targets FOXO3 and stimulates tumor stemness in hepatocellular carcinoma via a positive feedback loop involving FOXO3/PI3K/AKT/c-Myc

Figure 3 miR-3682-3p promotes the tumorigenicity of hepatocellular carcinoma cells in vivo. A: The tumorigenic rate of different concentrations of hepatocellular carcinoma cells (n = 5); B: Tumors in the miR-3682-3p overexpression group weighed significantly more than those of the control group (n = 5); C: Detection of miR-3682-3p expression in tumor tissues by RT-qPCR; D: Survival analysis revealed that miR-3682-3p antagomir prolongs the survival time of mice (n = 10, log-rank test); E: Immunohistochemical staining for stem cell-associated markers (SOX2 and OCT4) in xenograft tumors (n = 5) (× 100 magnification scale bar: 200 µm; × 400 magnification scale bar: 50 µm). ^bP < 0.01. NC: Negative control; HE: Hematoxylin and eosin.