VX-509 attenuates the stemness characteristics of colorectal cancer stem-like cells by regulating the epithelial-mesenchymal transition through Nodal/Smad2/3 signaling

Figure 5 VX-509 downregulates Nodal and its downstream protein p-Smad2/3 in colorectal cancer-derived cancer stem cells. A: Volcano plot of differentially expressed genes in the HT29 cancer stem cells (CSCs) Mock and VX-509-treated groups; B: Gene Ontology enrichment image of the differentially expressed genes; C: Nodal mRNA expression levels in the colorectal cancer (CRC)-derived CSCs Mock and VX-509-treated group; D-F: Protein expression levels of Nodal, p-Smad2/3 (D) and JAK3 (F) in CRC-derived CSCs treated with different concentrations of VX-509 (E). Densitometric analysis of Nodal and p-Smad2/3, normalized against GAPDH. n = 3. ^aP < 0.05, ^bP < 0.01, ^cP < 0.001, ^dP < 0.0001 compared to the HCT116 cancer stem cells Mock group and HT29 cancer stem cells Mock group. CSC: Cancer stem cell; DEG: Differentially expressed gene.