Mitochondrial carrier homolog 2 increases malignant phenotype of human gastric epithelial cells and promotes proliferation, invasion, and migration of gastric cancer cells

Figure 5 Mitochondrial carrier homolog 2 regulates the opening of mitochondrial permeability transition pore and expression of apoptosis-related proteins. A and C: The opening of mitochondrial permeability transition pore (mPTP) channels in human gastric mucosal cell (GES-1) and human gastric cancer cells (AGS) were detected by Calcein AM staining; B and D: Quantification of mPTP fluorescence intensity (scale bar: 50 μm); E-H: The expression level of Bax (E and F), Bcl-2 (E and G), and Cyto c (E and H) in mitochondrial carrier homolog 2 (MTCH2) overexpressed and MTCH2 silenced GES-1 cells were detected by Western blotting; I-L: The expression level of Bax (I and J), Bcl-2 (I and K), and Cyto c (I and L) in MTCH2 overexpressed and MTCH2 silenced AGS cells were detected by Western blotting. mPTP: Mitochondrial permeability transition pore; MTCH2: Mitochondrial carrier homolog 2; siRNA: Small interfering RNA; OE: Overexpression; NC-OE: Negative control of overexpression; NC-siRNA: Negative control of siRNA; GES-1: Human gastric mucosal cell; AGS: Human gastric cancer cells. ^aP < 0.001, ^cP < 0.01, compared with NC-OE; ^bP < 0.001, compared with NC-siRNA.