Fig. 3: Knockdown of SLCO4A1 reduces migration, invasion, sphere formation and tumorigenesis abilities but enhances the apoptosis of colon cancer stem cells.

A SLCO4A1 expression examined by western blot. B The migration, at 0 and 48 h, ability of CD133⁺CD44⁺ cells detected by scratch test. C The invasion ability of CD133⁺CD44⁺ cells detected by transwell assay. D Sphere formation ability of CD133⁺CD44⁺ cells assessed by suspension sphere formation assay. E The apoptosis of CD133⁺CD44⁺ cells detected by flow cytometry. F Weight of the tumors in nude mice. G The volume of the tumor in nude mice. H SLCO4A1 expression in tumors of nude mice examined by western blot. *p < 0.05 vs. cells treated with vector NC, ^#p < 0.05 vs. cells transfected with si-NC. Data were measurement data and expressed as mean ± standard deviation. Data between two groups were analyzed by unpaired t-test and data among multiple groups at different time points were analyzed using repeated measurement ANOVA, together with Bonferroni’s post hoc test. n = 8. The cell experiment was repeated three times.