Lecithin-cholesterol acyltransferase is a potential tumor suppressor and predictive marker for hepatocellular carcinoma metastasis

Figure 4 Downregulation of lecithin-cholesterol acyltransferase activates PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway and epithelial-mesenchymal transition. A: Signaling pathways in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) tissues upon decrease of lecithin-cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT) expression screened by gene sets enrichment analysis; B: Expression of p-Akt, p-mTOR and key molecules involved in epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in HepG2 and Hep3B and LCAT knocked down HepG2 and Hep3B cells were examined by immunoblotting; C: Key molecules involved in PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway and EMT in Huh-7 and LCAT overexpressed Huh-7 cells were determined by immunoblotting; D: Colony formation assay was performed with HepG2-control and HepG2-shLCAT cells with or without treatment of MK2206 (1 μM) or rapamycin (100 nM); E: Transwell assays were performed with HepG2-control and HepG2-shLCAT cells with or without MK-2206 (1 μM) or rapamycin (100 nM). LCAT: Lecithin-cholesterol acyltransferase; TCGA: The Cancer Genome Atlas.