GSC induces EMT but not collective cell migration of HCC cells.

(A) Ectopic expression of GSC in Hep3B cells induced changes in expression of EMT markers, particularly E-cadherin. The expression of each protein was normalized to β-actin. Results were analyzed using Student's t test. (*, PPP = 0.001 for GSC, PP = 0.004 for β-catenin, PP = 0.007 for vimentin). In addition, post hoc analysis confirmed the significant difference between Hep3B-GSC cells and Hep3B cells without treatment or treated with negative control. (B) Downregulation of GSC in Hep3B cells reversed the changes in expression of EMT markers as detected by Western blot. Results were analyzed using Student's t test. (*, PPPPPPP