Fig. 4: TDP-43 is positively related to ABHD2 and increases ABHD2 expression in HCC.

a–c qRT-PCR assay to detect the effect of TDP-43 on ABHD2 expression in HCC cells. The MHCC97H-KD-TDP-43 and MHCC97H-Control cells were used for the assay in (a). The cells (SMMC-7721 and Huh-7) were transiently transfected with the indicated siRNAs or plasmids. The data was normalized to the mRNA level of GAPDH. d Western blot analysis was performed to detect the effect of TDP-43 on ABHD2 expression in Huh-7 and SMMC-7721 cells. The cells were transiently transfected with the indicated siRNAs or plasmids for 48 h. e IHC staining of ABHD2 in the xenograft tumors derived from MHCC97H-KD-TDP-43 and MHCC97H-Control cells. The right panel is the quantitative analysis. Scale bar: 50 µm. Expression correlation analysis of TDP-43 and ABHD2 genes in Tumor (f), and Tumor and normal (g) in the GEPIA database (http://gepia.cancer-pku.cn/detail.php). h Heat map of the expression levels of TDP-43 and ABHD2 in HCC tissue microarray. Numbers 0, 1, 2 or 3 represent negative, weak, moderate or strong staining, respectively. i Statistical analysis of the association between TDP-43 and ABHD2 expression levels in the abovementioned tissue microarray by Pearson chi-square independent test, χ² = 61.41, P < 0.0001. The values in the graphs represent the mean of three biologically independent experiments. Error bars represent ± s. d. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001 by two-tailed Student’s t test.