Fig. 2: Knockdown of ΔNp63α blocks E47-mediated cell proliferation and tumor growth in vitro and in vivo.

A–D H292 or FaDu cells stably expressing either Flag-E47 or shp63, or both were subjected to Western blot analyses (A), MTS assays (B), or Colony formation analyses (C, D). Scale bar = 1 cm. Three independent experiments were performed. Data were presented as mean ± SD. **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001. E, F H292 cells stably expressing either Flag-E47 (wild-type or DM mutant) or shp63, or both were subjected to BrdU or PI staining and FACS analyses. Three independent experiments were performed. Data were presented as mean ± SD. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001. G, H H292 cells (1 × 10⁶) stable cells were subcutaneously injected into BALB/C nude mice (n = 4/group). Tumor sizes were measured every 2–3 days. Mice were euthanized by day 20 after inoculation and individual tumor weight was measured. Tumor photos, tumor volume, and tumor weight were presented. Scale bar = 1 cm. Data were presented as means ± SEM. **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001. I Tumors were fixed, embedded in paraffin, sectioned, and IHC was performed for Ki67 and cleaved caspase-3 (CC3). Scale bar = 100 μm. Data were presented as means ± SEM. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001.