Figure 9

uPAR promotes survival of U87vIII glioblastoma cells in neurospheres. (A) Representative confocal fluorescent micrographs of U87vIII neurospheres stably expressing control shRNA (shCtrl) or PLAUR-targeting shRNA (shuPAR). The neurospheres were stained for TUNEL (green) and DAPI (blue). (B) Quantification of TUNEL-positive cells in control cultures (−) and in cultures of cells that express PLAUR-targeting shRNA (+). The ratio of TUNEL-positive cells to the total number of cells in the neurosphere was computed and is presented relative to that present in control cells that express shCtrl (mean ± SEM; n = 5; student’s t-test *p < 0.05). (C) U87vIII cells in neurospheres were extracted and studied using the Cell Death ELISA (mean ± SEM; n = 3; student’s t-test **p < 0.01, *p < 0.05). (D) U87vIII cells that express shuPAR or shCtrl in neurospheres were extracted. Immunoblot analysis was performed to detect uPAR, cleaved caspase-3 (Casp3), and actin to control for load.