Figure 2.

LPS induces EMT in SMMC-7721 cells but not others. (A) Phase-contrast photographs showing the morphology of HCC cells untreated or treated with LPS (10 μg/ml) for 48 h ours (× 200). (B) qPCR was used to detected changes in expression of EMT genes in HCC cells treated with LPS. Results presented represent mean of triplicate experiments ± SEM (*P < 0.05, **P < 0.01). (C) Immunofluorescent staining of E-cadherin and Vimentin was performed in HepG2 and SMMC-7721 cells that were either untreated or treated with LPS, nuclei were counterstained with DAPI (× 200). EMT, epithelial-mesenchymal transition; HCC, hepatocellular carcinoma; LPS, lipopolysaccharide; SEM, standard error of the mean.