Fig. 3: α-MGT blocks constitutive and inducible activation STAT3 in HCC cells.

a HepG2/STAT3-luceferase reporter cells were pre-treated with α-MGT at indicated concentrations for 6 h, and luciferase activity was measured following stimulation with IL-6 (50 ng/mL) for 5 h. b–d After treatment of α-MGT for the indicated times, the phosphorylation of STAT3 were assessed using western blotting. e, f HepG2 cells were pre-treated with α-MGT for 6 h, and then incubated with IL-6 (10 ng/mL) or EGF (15 ng/mL) for additional 30 min. The phosphorylation level of STAT3 was assessed by western blotting. β-actin was used as the control. Data are expressed as mean ± SD, n = 3. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001, and ****p < 0.0001 vs. vehicle control.