Fig. 3: Ectopic expression of USP18 promotes the malignant phenotype and stemness of glioma cells in a DUB enzyme activity-dependent manner. | Cell Death Discovery

Fig. 3: Ectopic expression of USP18 promotes the malignant phenotype and stemness of glioma cells in a DUB enzyme activity-dependent manner.

From: USP18 deubiquitinates and stabilizes SOX9 to promote the stemness and malignant progression of glioblastoma

Fig. 3

A, B Cell viability assay (CCK-8) in A172 and U251 cells stably transfected with empty vector (EV), wild-type USP18, or catalytically inactive USP18-C64S. C Representative images of the colony formation assay following USP18 or USP18-C64S overexpression. D An EdU assay demonstrated that the overexpression of USP18, rather than USP18-C64S, enhances the proliferation capability of glioma cells. E Representative images and quantitative analysis of Transwell migration and invasion assays in A172 and U251 cells following USP18 or USP18-C64S overexpression. F Patient-derived GSCs (GSC23, T3264; 2 × 103 cells/well) were cultured in serum-free medium with EGF (20 ng/mL) and bFGF (20 ng/mL) for 10 days. Spheres were photographed under a light microscope. G Western blot analysis of stemness markers (CD133, Nestin, SOX2 and NANOG) in GSCs transfected with USP18-WT or USP18-C64S. All the results are presented as the means ± SDs (from three independent experiments). *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001; ns not significant.

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