Exosome-mediated transfer of circRNA563 promoting hepatocellular carcinoma by targeting the microRNA148a-3p/metal-regulatory transcription factor-1 pathway

Figure 6 Circ563 promoting hepatocellular carcinoma tumor growth in vivo. Mouse xenografts were generated to verify the role of circ563 in vivo. Hepatocellular carcinoma cells stably transfected with miR-148a-3p overexpression, metal-regulatory transcription factor-1 knockdown, or control vectors were implanted into the subcutaneous tumors of mice. The xenografts were treated with exosomes after four weeks. A-C: Accelerated growth of circ563-overexpressing Hep3B-derived xenografts is shown with increased tumor volume and weight compared with the control group. Both miR-148a-3p overexpression and metal-regulatory transcription factor-1 (MTF-1) depletion partially reversed the increase in tumor volume and weight; D and E: MTF-1 staining reveals a similar trend with cell growth. ^aP < 0.05, ^bP < 0.01, ^cP < 0.001. exo-circ563: Exosomal circ563; HCC: Hepatocellular carcinoma; MSC: Mesenchymal stem cell; Exo: Exosome; MTF-1: Metal-regulatory transcription factor-1.