Fig. 5

CHN1 expression induces EMT through activation of the Akt/GSK-3β/Snail pathway. a A representative expression of CHN1 and Snail in serial sections of cervical tumor tissues from three CC patients. An overlapped expression pattern of these two proteins is presented (original magnification, ×100). b Gene expression of CHN1, E-cadherin, β-catenin, vimentin, fibronectin, and Snail, in CHN1-upregulated SiHa and Hela cells and control vector-transfected cells, was assessed using qRT-PCR. The expression of EMT markers and EMT-related transcription factors was affected after up-regulation of CHN1 in SiHa and Hela cells. Data represent means ± SD, n = 3; p < 0.05. Overexpression (c) and interference (d) of CHN1 affected the expression of epithelial and mesenchymal markers. e Overexpression of CHN1 increased the expression of p-Akt, p-GSK-3β, and Snail. Treatment with Akt inhibitor LY294002 (5 μM for 12 h) reversed the impact of CHN1 overexpression on the expression of p-Akt, p-GSK-3β, and Snail. Three independent experiments were performed, and GAPDH and β-tubulin were used as the internal controls