Fig. 1: RCN1 is upregulated in sorafenib-resistant HCC cells and may predict a poor prognosis.

A Representative flow cytometry analysis of Annexin V-PI staining in Huh7 and HepG2 sorafenib-sensitive and -resistant cells treated with 5 μM sorafenib. B Subcutaneous injection of sorafenib-sensitive and -resistant Huh7 cells into nude mice, and ex vivo images of resected xenografts. C Self-renewal ability of sorafenib-resistant HCC cells examined using the sphere formation assay. D Heatmap of 1145 genes differentially expressed between sorafenib-sensitive cells and cells with acquired sorafenib resistance from the GSE94550 dataset. E Heatmap of the 20 most variable genes (|logFC|>3). The abscissa in panels A and B represents the sample number, the ordinate represents the differentially expressed genes, the histogram at the upper right represents the color level, and each cell in the matrix represents a specific expression level. F Genomic RCN1 expression in Huh7 and HepG2 sorafenib-sensitive and -resistant cells. G Proteomic RCN1 expression in Huh7 and HepG2 sorafenib-sensitive and -resistant cells. H RCN1 expression was upregulated in sorafenib-resistant HCC when compared with sorafenib-sensitive HCC. I RCN1 mRNA expression was upregulated in HCC tumor tissues (n = 68) compared with the corresponding adjacent tissues (n = 68). GAPDH served as an internal reference. J RCN1 expression was significantly higher in tumor tissues than in the adjacent tissues, according to the GEPIA website. K Association of RCN1 expression with overall survival (top) and disease-free survival (bottom). Data are presented as the means ± SEM of three independent experiments; data for western blot have undergone quantitative analysis. ns not significantly different. *P < 0.05; **P < 0.01; ***P < 0.001; ****P < 0.0001, t-test.