Fig. 4

IQGAP3 enhances the migration and invasion of HCC cells. a, b Representative micrographs of the wound-healing assay in HCC cells showing the motilities of IQGAP3-overexpressing cells and IQGAP3-silenced cells at 0 and 36 h (HepG2 cell) or 24 h (HCCLM3) compared with vector controls. c, d Representative micrographs of the invasiveness of IQGAP3-overexpressing cells and IQGAP3-silenced cells compared with vector control cells in the transwell matrix penetration assay. Error bars represent mean ± SD from three independent experiments, *P < 0.05. e Representative micrographs of IQGAP3-transduced and IQGAP3-silenced cells cultured in the 3D spheroid invasion assay. f Gene Set Enrichment Analysis results indicate that IQGAP3 expression is significantly correlated with the metastasis-associated gene signatures based on The Cancer Genome Atlas HCC mRNA data set. HCC hepatocellular carcinoma, IQGAP3 IQ motif-containing GTPase activating protein 3, SD standard deviation