Fig. 1

OSM induces HIF expression in hepatoma cells and hepatocytes under normoxic conditions. a Eleven HCC cell lines and two non-neoplastic hepatocyte cell lines (THLE-2, PH5CH8) were screened for the induction of HIF-1 α protein levels by OSM treatment or hypoxia (green indicates protein induction, red no HIF-1 α protein induction). b–d HepG2, JHH-4, and PH5CH8 cells were selected for further analysis and treated with 50 ng/ml OSM, hypoxia (1 % O₂), or a combinatorial treatment for the indicated periods of time. b Quantitative RT-PCR of HIF-1 α. The fold change was calculated relative to the untreated control. Error bars represent the standard deviation of three biological replicates. c Western blot analysis of HIF-1 α. α-Tubulin was used as a loading control, and one representative blot for α-tubulin is shown. S. Exp. indicates short exposure, L. Exp. long exposure. d Quantification of HIF-1 α protein levels in HepG2 and PH5CH8 cells after the different treatments. Statistical significance was determined in comparison to the untreated control. * P<=0.05, ** P<=0.01, and *** P<=0.001