Fig. 6
PDK1 and PDK2 silencing downregulated sphere formation ability, stemness gene, and multidrug resistance gene expression in HNC cells. A SAS and FaDu cells (2.5×102 cells/100 μl) were seeded in 96-well ultra-low attachment plates in sphere medium. Sphere numbers were counted after 10-day incubation. B SAS shLuc parental cells (1×106 cells/3 ml) were seeded in a 6-cm dish with sphere medium overnight. SAS cells (1×104 cells/2 ml) were seeded in 6-well ultra-low attachment plates in sphere medium for 12 days. Expression of stemness genes and multidrug resistance genes (MDR) were detected in parental cells (P) and sphere cells (1S) by RT-qPCR. C SAS shLuc, shPDK1#261, and shPDK2#315 cells (2.5×102 cells/100 μl) were seeded in 96-well ultra-low attachment plates in sphere medium with or without 10 ng/ml TGF-β1. Sphere numbers were counted after 10-day incubation. shLuc (1S) compared with shLuc (P): *p < 0.05; **p < 0.01; ***p < 0.005; ****p < 0.0001. shPDK (1S) compared with shLuc (1S): #p < 0.05; ##p < 0.01; ###p < 0.005; ####p < 0.0001