Fig. 3: Metformin rescues F. nucleatum-induced stemness by inhibiting sonic hedgehog pathway.

a, b Real-time PCR was performed to evaluate SHH and GLI1 expression in HT-29 (a) and HCT 116 (b) cells co-cultured with F. nucleatum or treated with 1 mM metformin for 24 h; unpaired t test. c SHH and GLI1 levels were detected by western blotting in HT-29 and HCT 116 cells. The cells were co-cultured with F. nucleatum or treated with 1 mM metformin for 24 h. d Western blotting was performed to detect sonic hedgehog pathway-related proteins in xenograft tumors after different treatments. n.s., P > 0.05; ***P < 0.001; ****P < 0.0001.