FIGURE 3

Nxhl affects angiogenic phenotypes in vitro. (A) Silence of nxhl (homolog of Harbi1) gene suppresses HUVEC cell migration and invasion. Representative images of migrated and invasive cells stained with crystal violet and inhibition of migration in nxhl-siRNA treated HUVEC cells. The migration and invasive potential of HUVECs treated with nxhl-siRNA was determined using transwell chambers as described in the “Materials and methods” section. (B) Silence of nxhl gene suppresses HUVEC and HCC cell tube formation abilities. Representative images of tube formation in nxhl-siRNA treated HUVEC cells and inhibition of tube formation in vitro (up row). Images were taken 6 h after addition of the supernatant. Tube networks were quantified using the Image J software and expressed as branches. Scale bars, 50 μm (middle row). Representative images of tube formation in nxhl-siRNA treated HCC cells (down row). Scale bars, 100 μm. Images were taken 24 h after addition of the supernatant. Tube networks were quantified using the Image J software and expressed as branches. The data represent as mean ± SEM from three independent experiments. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.001, and ***p < 0.0001 represents statistically significant.