Fig. 4

Loss of FTO enhances HCC invasion and metastasis. (a) Endogenous FTO mRNA levels in MHCC97L and HepG2 cells were reduced through the FTO shRNA. (b) FTO protein expression was also decreased following the introduction of FTO shRNA. (c) The proliferation rate of MHCC97L and HepG2 cells with FTO knockdown was significantly accelerated compared to the negative control. (d) The invasive and migratory capacity of MHCC97L cells with FTO knockdown was notably enhanced compared to the negative control. (e) The migratory ability of MHCC97L and HepG2 cells with FTO knockdown exhibited a marked increase compared to the negative control. (f) The growth rate of MHCC97L-shFTO cells in mice liver tumors was significantly higher than that of the negative control. (g) MHCC97L-shFTO cells showed a significantly enhanced ability to metastasize to the lungs in mice, with the control group exhibiting a lower number of lung metastases compared to the FTO-knockdown cells. All differences were assessed using an unpaired Student’s t-test. Data are shown as mean ± S.D. (n = 3). *P<0.05, **P<0.01, and ***P<0.001. Scale bars = 100 μm. HCC, hepatocellular carcinoma