Decreased STAT4 indicates poor prognosis and enhanced cell proliferation in hepatocellular carcinoma

Figure 5 Signal transducer and activator of transcription 4 knockdown inhibited cell proliferation and the effects of altered signal transducer and activator of transcription 4 expression on the cell cycle status of L02 cells. A: Western blot analysis revealed that treatment with STAT4-siRNA markedly decreased the STAT4 and cyclin D1 levels at 48 h after siRNA transfection in L02 cells compared to transfection with negative control siRNA and mock transfection; B: siSTAT4-1 and -2 were used to knockdown STAT4 in HepG2 cells, resulting in the delay of the G1-S transition and significant arrest in the G1 phase after these cells were released from starvation. The data are presented as the mean ± SD of three experiments; C: A CCK-8 assay showed that STAT4 knockdown inhibited cell proliferation. CCK-8 reagents were added to the medium for 2 h. The absorbance was measured at each indicated time point (0, 1, 2, and 3 d). Each value was derived from three independent experiments. STAT4: Signal transducer and activator of transcription 4; HCC: Hepatocellular carcinoma.