miR-3682-3p directly targets FOXO3 and stimulates tumor stemness in hepatocellular carcinoma via a positive feedback loop involving FOXO3/PI3K/AKT/c-Myc

Figure 7 Pathoclinical features of FOXO3 expression. A: FOXO3 expression in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) tissue microarray (× 100 magnification scale bar: 200 µm; × 400 magnification scale bar: 50 µm); B: Immunohistochemical scoring of FOXO3 staining; C: Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showing the FOXO3 expression level-related overall survival in HCC; D: Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showing the FOXO3 expression level-related disease-free survival in HCC; E: Correlation between FOXO1 and miR-3682-3p expression (Spearman’s rank correlation test); F: Schematic representation of the HBx-induced miR-3682-3p/FOXO3/PI3K/AKT/c-Myc feedback loop that promotes HCC stemness. ^bP < 0.01.