Fig. 3

PIWIL1-regulated FAO is associated with the regulation of the immune microenvironment of HCC. Wild type and PIWIL1-overexpressing HCC cells were tested in the presence of 100 μM etomoxir. The a proliferation and b colony formation ability of PIWIL1-overexpressing HCC were significantly suppressed by etomoxir treatment; Orthotopic models of wild type and PIWIL1-overexpressing HCC were established, and mice were treated with etomoxir (50 mg/kg) every other day by intraperitoneal injection. The growth rate (c) and tumor size (d) of both vector- and PIWIL1-overexpressing HCC were significantly reduced in the presence of etomoxir (n = 5); e Vector-expressing and PIWIL1-overexpressing PLC/PRF/5 cells collected and total RNA was extracted. RNA sequencing was performed to analyze the difference in gene expression. Heatmap of some genes with significant expression was generated. f GSEA analysis of gene sets associated with the immune system process was performed. g The whole liver of mice with orthotopically implanted HCC was digested. The population of TAMs, DCs, B lymphocytes, and NK cells were analyzed by flow cytometry using a particular cell surface marker (n = 5). All experiments were performed in triplicate if without particular notice. *p < 0.05; **p < 0.01; ***p < 0.001