Fig. 2

Effects of the HBx protein on morphology and growth rate in retinal epithelial cells. ARPE19 cells were transfected with a mock plasmid or HBx-containing plasmid, followed by a selection with 0.5 mg/mL G418 for several weeks to establish stable transfectants. a Whole-cell lysate was extracted from each transfectant, and the expression of the HBx protein was examined using Western blotting. b Morphology of each stable transfectant was observed under a phase-contrast microscope at ×400 magnification. c Cell growth rate of each transfectant was measured using MTT assay